Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Tale of Time
by BlueAuraHero
Summary: Steve is a human from a ruined future world. Sick of his world's doom and gloom, he travels to the past to change his future for the better. But after an accident, he is transformed into a Pokémon and loses his memories. Join him on an adventure in this novelization of Explorers of Sky.
1. Beginnings

**Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Tale of Time**

**By BlueAuraHero**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Beginnings**

The future was not a peaceful one. Everything was grey in color. The land and the sky were enshrouded in darkness. In this place, time was frozen. The sun never shined, the wind never blew, and boulders were even floating in the air. The air was eerily still.

A boy was walking with his partner through a forest. The human boy had short, black hair and brown eyes. He wore a blue jacket with a slightly torn white t‑shirt underneath, along with black pants and shoes smeared with mud.

His companion was a green reptilian creature with a red belly, three leafy blades on his wrists, and a long, green leaf growing out of its head.

"Grovyle, how much further?" the boy asked.

"Not much further now, were almost there, Steve," Grovyle replied.

The duo walked into a clearing. Steve glanced around. There was nothing particularly out of the ordinary except for a rock shaped like a Pokémon species the boy did not recognize.

"Remind me what we're doing again," Steve said.

Grovyle sighed. "We need to find Celebi…"

"Yeah."

"Have her open the Passage of Time…"

"Right."

"Then we travel to the past," Grovyle finished, then added, "so we can change this terrible future."

Steve nodded, his brown eyes shining. This future was indeed terrible. The boy and the Pokémon wanted nothing more than to get rid of this dark future they lived their miserable lives in.

"_Stop right there_!"

Steve jumped at the booming voice. Grovyle cursed.

The voice belonged to a grey Pokémon hovering in the air. A single, red eye was glowing in the near darkness.

"Dusknoir," Grovyle growled at the figure.

"Grovyle," the Pokémon known as Dusknoir said, "you know I cannot allow you two to change the future." His gaze fell upon the boy. "There is too much at stake."

"We know the risks and were going take them," Grovyle spat. He turned to the boy and shouted, "Run!"

Steve turned and ran, just as Dusknoir attempted to rush in and attack him, but Grovyle blocked the Ghost-type's attack.

"You can't stop us, Dusknoir!" Grovyle yelled. "We're going to change this future for the better!"

Dusknoir smirked. "Oh, but my minions will surely stop the boy from going anywhere."

Farther ahead, the human boy was surrounded by several purple Pokémon with blue gems for eyes. They were Dusknoir's minions, the Sableye.

"Meh heh heh heh…" the Sableye laughed creepily and closed in on the human.

Steve took a blue orb out of his pocket. "I should probably save this Wonder Orb for later, but what the heck." He tossed it at the ground, and a blinding, white flash erupted from the orb.

"Wah! Can't see, can't see!" the Sableye cried.

Steve was unaffected by the flash because he had shielded his eyes with his arm. Grovyle came hopping in a moment later.

"Come on, Steve! We have to go!" the Grass-type said urgently.

"Right!" the boy replied, and the duo dashed forward into the forest, away from the blinded Sableye.

"You fools!" Dusknoir hovered up to the Sableye several seconds later. "After them!"

"Y-yes, M-Master Dusknoir, sir," they said. They ran after the Grovyle and the boy, trying to shake off their temporary blindness.

* * *

"That was a close one," Steve said, panting for breath.

"You don't say," Grovyle replied sarcastically, not as winded as the boy.

They had arrived at the portal they were searching for. Steve had found some texts in ancient ruins that mentioned the Passage of Time. It would allow someone to travel to the past, or vice versa. The petite, pink Pokémon named Celebi could help them. She was hovering in front of the portal, clearly waiting for the boy and his partner to arrive. Two green antennae like things stuck out of her head, and she had warm, green eyes. Small green wings adorned her back.

Grovyle stepped up to the pink Pokémon. Celebi was quite small for a legendary Pokémon, and the last time the boy questioned her size and appearance, she got a little irritated.

"Hello, Celebi," Grovyle greeted. "Is everything ready?"

"Yep." Celebi smiled. "The Passage of Time is ready to go."

Steve and Grovyle nodded to each other and approached the portal.

"So this will take us back into the past, huh?" Steve said.

"Yes," Grovyle responded. "We will change the future."

"We will change the future!" Steve echoed, and the boy and the Grass‑type Pokémon leapt into the Passage of Time.

The Passage of Time was a colorful tunnel of lights, and Steve and his partner were gliding through it. Unbeknownst to Grovyle, a purple blob was following them. Steve noticed it though. Was it something from the tunnel, or was it someone's last‑ditch attack, he didn't know. But he felt that blob radiated dark energy. He knew he had to protect his partner, like he did so many times before.

"Grovyle, watch out!"

"Huh?" Grovyle was suddenly swung around by the boy as the blob flew closer.

"Argh!" Steve cried out when the blob came in contact with his back. White hot pain erupted across his back, and he shut his eyes tight.

"Whoa!" Grovyle yelped, concerned for his partner. "Are you okay? What was that?"

"I-I'm okay," Steve whimpered, but Grovyle could see he was not okay. He could also see they were drifting apart.

"Steve, grab my hand!" Grovyle reached out to the boy, who was drifting farther away from him.

"I'm trying!" Steve cried. "I'm t-trying!" Their fingertips brushed together for a split second, before they were launched forcibly away from each other.

"WAAHHHH!" the boy screamed as he was sent flying away through the tunnel.


	2. Awakening

**Chapter 2: Awakening**

Treasure Town was a lively town in the Pokémon world of the past. Many Pokémon were relaxing, chatting, or doing business. The sun shined brightly overhead, and a gentle breeze blew.

In the outskirts of the town, an electric, yellow mouse was nervously pacing back and forth in front of an oddly shaped tent. This Pokémon was a Pikachu, which had two red pouches on its cheeks, long ears with black tips at the end, and a lightning-bolt-shaped tail.

The tent belonged to Wigglytuff's Guild, and the Pikachu had been trying to enter it for several days now. But he was a coward, and always chickened out.

"No." He shook his head. "I'm not gonna chicken out this time." The Pikachu stepped onto the grating on the ground, when voices sprung up.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

"The footprint belongs to Pikachu! The footprint belongs to Pikachu!"

"Yow!" The electric mouse quickly hopped off the grate. "That scares me every time!" He frantically glanced around. Then he calmed down and sighed.

"I just can't do it!" the Pikachu said, exasperated. From a small pouch, he took out a stone with a flat surface. Engraved on it was a strange pattern. Looking at it sadly, he said, "I thought my personal treasure would motivate me to do it today, but…" He put it away and turned to the stairs going down.

"I just can't do it… I'm such a coward…"

He walked back down the stairs he had come up, feeling discouraged.

As the Pikachu went out of sight, two figures peeked out from behind one of the totem poles in front of the tent.

"You see that guy? What a loser," the first figure said.

"That thing he has might be worth stealing," said the second.

After a nod to each other, the duo proceeded to follow their target.

The Pikachu soon arrived at the beach. Krabby, red crab-like Pokémon, were blowing bubbles into the air. The bubbles sparkled with color, shining in the setting sun. He stopped walking and glanced out at the scene.

"Wow," he breathed. "It's always so pretty here." The Pikachu smiled. "I always come here to the beach when I'm feeling down. It cheers me up every time."

When he looked to the left, something caught his eye. "Huh, what's that?" The Pikachu walked towards the blue lump on the beach.

As he came closer, he could see it was a Pokémon lying face-up. Its eyes were closed but its chest rose and fell steadily, indicating it was alive.

"Someone's passed out here!" the Pikachu cried. He began nudging the unconscious Pokémon. "Hey! Are you alright? What happened to you?!"

"Ugh…" the figure groaned, waking up.

"You're awake!" the Pikachu said. "I was getting really worried!"

"W-where am I?" the figure murmured. "What happened?"

"Hello, can you hear me, Riolu?" the voice from before spoke. Glancing over, the Pokémon saw a Pikachu looking at him, concern in his eyes.

_Did he just call me Riolu?_

"I'm not a Riolu," the mysterious figure said. "I'm a human."

The Pikachu was shocked to hear this. "A human? But…" He looked the Pokémon over. "...But you look like a normal Riolu to me!"

The Riolu glanced down at his hands, and gasped. His hands were no longer hands, but paws. Black and blue fur covered most of his body and floppy, ear‑like things hung to the side of his head. The black fur around his orange eyes made him look like he was wearing a mask.

"Oh, wow!" the figure cried. "I've been turned into a Riolu!"

_How did this happen? And why can't I remember anything?_

"Um, you're kinda weird," the Pikachu said. "Is this some sort of joke?"

The human‑turned‑Riolu quickly shook his head. "I'm not lying!"

"Okay, but can you tell me your name at least?" the Pikachu said.

The Riolu racked his limited memory for his name.

_My name, my name… What was it… Steve? Definitely Steve._

"Steve," he finally replied. "My name is Steve."

The Pikachu smiled. "Well, my name's Andy." He glanced around before saying, "I think I can trust you. I'm sorry, there's just been many bad Pokémon popping up lately, and-"

Andy never got to finish his sentence. The two Pokémon who had been following him decided to ram into his back.

"Ow!"

Andy fell forward, and Steve hopped backward just in time. Something fell out of the Pikachu's pouch. Andy stood up and turned to his attackers.

"Hey!" he yelled. "What was that for?!"

Koffing, a purple ball spewing gas out of holes his body, answered, "Hehehe, can't figure it out?"

"H-huh?" Andy stammered, his anger turning into confusion.

"We're just messing with ya, chump." Zubat, a blue, eyeless bat, sneered.

The bluntness of Zubat's statement caught Andy off guard.

Zubat swooped in and grabbed the object on the sand in his feetless legs. "We'll be taking this."

"No! That's mine!" Andy was too stunned to do anything. He just watched as the two thieves made away with his personal treasure.

"Later, scaredy chicken," Koffing said to the Pikachu, floating towards a cave in the back.

"So long, suckers!" Zubat added as they disappeared into the cave.

"They… they stole my personal treasure…" Tears were welling up in Andy's eyes. "I-if I c-can't get it b-back…"

"Come on!" Steve cried, pulling Andy's arm. "Let's go after them!"

The two Pokémon ran to chase the two thieves who had disappeared into the cave.

The cave was actually quite well lit inside, as Steve and Andy discovered. Shallow water lay on the ground at their feet. Steve found out that fighting came naturally to him, as he knocked out several wild Pokémon that got in his way.

Andy noticed this. "Way to go, knocking out those Shellos, Steve. You're pretty good at fighting. Better than me anyway…"

The Riolu said nothing, and pressed on. It didn't take very long for the two Pokémon to reach the end of the cave, where the thieves were stuck at the dead end. They were facing the wall in the back, arguing with each other.

Andy walked forward and yelled, "Hey!"

Koffing and Zubat stopped their bickering when they saw who it was.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our friend, the chicken," Zubat said.

Andy flinched at the insult. "Give me back my personal treasure! It means everything to me!"

"Whoa, ho, ho, is it really that valuable?" Koffing wondered.

"Maybe we oughta sell it for big money," Zubat said. "All the more reason not to give it back!"

"But… but…" Andy stammered.

Koffing grinned. "You want it? Why don't you come and get it?"

"Gladly!" Steve smacked his two fists together, and lashed out at Koffing. Dodging to the side, Koffing stuck his tongue out at the Riolu. Growling, Steve punched again, and this time it was a hit, right to the gas ball's face. Koffing fell to the floor with a thud.

At the same time, Andy was trying his best to tackle the Zubat. The bat kept flying around, taunting. "Can't hit me! heh-heh-heh!"

"Enough!" the Pikachu cried, and unleashed a bolt of electricity towards Zubat. It hit him and the bat shrieked in pain as he was being fried by the electricity. Zubat collapsed on the floor next to Koffing.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow," Koffing groaned. "They beat us up…"

"Yow!" Zubat yelped, hovering back up. "How we'd lose to a couple of wimps like them, anyway?"

Koffing floated back up as well. "I dunno!"

"Bah! Here's your stupid rock back!" Zubat tossed the rock back to its rightful owner. He and his partner in thievery flew out the tunnel.

"Don't forget, your victory was just a fluke!" Koffing shouted back to them as he left with Zubat.

Andy picked up his treasure and stared at it. "Wow, we really got it back…" He turned to the Riolu, who was grinning. "Thank you, Steve!"

When they got back outside, Andy thanked Steve again, who simply rubbed the back of his head, blushing.

"Aw, it was nothing…" Steve said sheepishly.

"It wasn't just 'nothing'," Andy insisted. "It was one of the bravest things I've ever seen in my entire life."

Steve just smiled, staring at the sand.

"Do you have anything to do now?" Andy asked.

Steve looked up at the question.

"I mean, you were a human transformed into a Pokémon and all…"

Steve glanced out at the sea, thinking.

"If not, well..." Andy took a deep breath. "Will you be willing to form an exploration team with me?"

Steve looked at the Pikachu again, intrigued.

"It's just that I've been wanting to join Wigglytuff's Guild for quite some time now," Andy said. "The idea of adventure, finding treasure, and discovering new lands, it just seems so cool. And one day, I happened to find this."

Andy pulled out the rock from his satchel and laid it out in the sand. Steve stared at the intricate pattern on the smooth side.

"It's really something, isn't it?" Andy asked. Steve nodded.

_What a strange pattern… I've never seen anything like it before. Not that I'd remember if I ever saw one…_

"I call this stone my _Relic Fragment._" Andy put the rock away and glanced up towards the town. "I wanna join Wigglytuff's Guild, but I'm too scared to…" The Pikachu looked at the Riolu in the eyes. "I want you to form an exploration team with me," he pleaded. "I would've been very scared to go in that cave alone, but now you're with me."

Steve eyes widened at the request.

_Whoa, he's trying to recruit me outta the blue! What do I do? It's true I don't know what else to do, but maybe if I just go with him, I'll learn something about myself, and why I've been turned into a Pokémon. Alright._

"So, whaddya say?" Andy asked.

"Okay, I'll join," Steve replied.

"Really? Alright!" Andy proceeded to hop around in circles, laughing in joy. Then he stopped, calming down a little.

"First, we need to go to Wigglytuff's guild and sign up," he said. "I'm so excited!"

"Let's do it!" Steve cheered, and they raised their paws into the air together.

And that was how Steve the Riolu and Andy the Pikachu began their grand adventure.


	3. Guild

**Chapter 3: Guild**

Andy led his new friend up the steps to the guild entrance.

"This is Wigglytuff's Guild," Andy said, nervous. "There's just something weird about this place!"

Steve stared at the tent. The top part was shaped like a pink bunny with pointy ears. He guessed it was supposed to resemble a Pokémon, but he could only guess.

"I gotta do this, I gotta do this," Andy said to himself. "I have Steve with me this time, I can't run away again." He stepped onto the grate.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

"The footprint belongs to Pikachu! The footprint belongs to Pikachu!"

Andy shuddered as the voices boomed. He wanted to jump off but held his ground.

One of the voices called up to them. "Aright, you PASS. There's someone ELSE up there with you! Tell them to get on the GRATE!"

Sighing in relief, Andy got off the grate, and gestured Steve over. "I think they want you to step on it now."

The Riolu walked onto the grate, glancing down into it.

_Well, at least this thing is made so no one can fall through it. But it looks like it might tickle my feet, or-_

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" the other voice said.

"The footprint belongs to…" There was a pause. "The footprint belongs to…" The voice sounded uncertain and the other voice spoke up.

"What's WRONG? RESPOND, Diglett!"

"The footprint belongs to… maybe Riolu's! Maybe Riolu's!"

"WHAT? Whaddya mean MAYBE?"

"I don't know what I don't know, okay?"

Andy raised an eyebrow. "Are they arguing down there?"

Steve shrugged, as the louder voice addressed them.

"OKAY! It's true you don't see many Riolu around here, BUT I think you're good, so you may ENTER!"

The metal bars covering the entrance slid upward.

"Look, it's opening!" Andy walked into the tent. "We can go inside!"

Steve joined him inside of the tent. "There's a ladder here." He pointed at ladder leading underground. They descended the ladder.

They were surprised by the number of Pokémon that were present in the large room. Some were giving money as payment to others, and some were talking to one another.

"Wow, are these Pokémon all exploration teams?" Andy murmured, as Steve took a look around. They were in a large, oval room. From where they had come from, there was another hole with a ladder going down. A bulletin board hung on the wall on the left side, and another bulletin board hung on the right. Pokémon were clustered in front of the boards, discussing about whatever was posted on them.

From the hole going down, a Pokémon emerged, interrupting their observations by calling out to them.

"Excuse me! You two just came in, correct?"

The Pokémon addressing them was a bird that looked like a parrot. He had red wings, green, yellow, and blue feathers covering his body and an entirely black head. His head was shaped like a musical note with eyes and a beak. Andy nodded, and the Pokémon returned the nod.

"I am Chatot, Wigglytuff's right‑hand Pokémon and the knowledgeable one around these parts," he introduced himself with a serious tone. "Now shoo! We don't have time for silly surveys or other such nonsense!"

"Oh, we're not here for stuff like that," Andy said. "We came because we wanna become apprentices in the guild!"

"Apprentices?" Chatot repeated, a little surprised.

"Yeah."

Turning his back to them, Chatot muttered to himself, "It's quite rare to see a kid like this wanting to be an apprentice at this guild, especially when the training is very difficult..."

Steve spoke up, having heard him. "Um, is the training really that hard?"

Chatot squawked and whirled around to face them. "No, nonononono! It's not hard at all! Whatever gave you that idea?" After flapping his wings in some sort of panic, he smiled. "You should've just said that you wanted to be apprentices in the first place!"

Andy and Steve glanced at each other. "What an attitude change," Andy muttered. Steve suppressed a laugh as Chatot called to them from the ladder going down.

"Whatever are you waiting for? Come along!" Chatot hopped down the ladder. Steve and Andy followed him down. Another big room awaited, and it was surprisingly empty. Two hallways were on both sides and some sort of shop was set up in the corner. Andy noticed a window and ran over to it, looking out.

"Wow, we're underground, but you can see outside!"

"Yes, because the guild's built into the side of the cliff," Chatot said. "It should be obvious why we are able to see outside."

"Oh."

Chatot stopped in front of a wooden door with a symbol on it. "This is the Guildmaster's chamber, and on no account, I repeat, on NO account you should be discourteous to the Guildmaster," he warned in a strict tone. The bird turned back to the door and said, "Guildmaster, it's me, Chatot! I'm coming in!" He pushed open the door and lead the two recruits inside.

The room inside was decorated with a few banners and had several items around the walls. A pink statue or something was standing at the end of the room. Steve and Andy stopped between two braziers as Chatot hopped forward.

"Guildmaster, I present to you two new Pokémon who wish to join as apprentices," he said.

Steve wondered where the Guildmaster was, when the pink "statue" whirled around and said, "Hiya!"

Steve and Andy jumped, caught by surprise. The Guildmaster was standing before them. He was egg shaped, with pink fur and pointy ears. His bright, green eyes sparkled with a childlike personality. On the Guildmaster's head was a tuft of hair Steve recognized that was the symbol on the door. Wigglytuff ignored their surprise and went straight to business in an energetic tone.

"So, you want to register at the guild as apprentices, right? Alright, let's do it! First, tell me your team name."

Andy turned to Steve. "Oh, we have to come up with a team name."

Steve went into deep thought. He was never good at coming up with names on the spot.

"Team Poképals?" Andy suggested.

"...Nah, too silly for me," Steve replied. Then a light bulb flashed in Steve's head. "How about… _Team Galaxy_?"

"Team Galaxy?" Andy repeated. "Sounds pretty cool! I like it, Steve!"

Steve shrugged. "I'm not really good at coming up with names. Glad you like it."

"Team Galaxy?" the Guildmaster said, taking out a quill and pink notebook. "Okay, registering… registering, all done!" He tossed the quill and notebook behind himself after he finished writing. "Team Galaxy is now officially registered at the guild! YOOM-TAH!" Wigglytuff shouted a Hyper Voice attack, and the two recruits jumped in surprise.

Wigglytuff pulled out a yellow chest and placed it in front of the two recruits.

"What's this?" Steve asked.

"Why, that's your Exploration Team Starter Kit!" Wigglytuff replied. "Open it up!"

Steve did as he was told, and inside the chest was a map with details written on it. Next to that was a yellow bag with an arm strap and a pink flap for a cover. On the bag were a pair of round badges with a symbol of a Poké Ball engraved on them, and a pair of wings on the sides of the badges. Both badges had a pink gem in the center. And finally there were two scarves. One was a red color and the other was a light green.

Steve took the red scarf and Andy got the green one. They wrapped the scarves around their necks.

"Cool! We look like actual explorers now!" Andy said, excited.

"Yep!" Wigglytuff pointed at the map. "That's your wonder map. It's very, VERY convenient, and it updates itself and stuff! And then there's your explorers bag, which you can put your items in, and finally there's your Explorer Badge, which shows your an official exploration team!"

"Thank you, Guildmaster!" Andy said, amazed at the items they received. "We'll do our best!"

"That's the spirit!" Wigglytuff smiled. "But you're only apprentices right now, so do your best… to train!"

Andy nodded and turned to Steve. "This is gonna be so… AWESOME!"

Steve laughed, and the two pumped their arms into the air.

A few minutes later, Chatot led the two new recruits to their room.

"This is your room," Chatot said. It was a particularly small room, with a window letting moonlight in and two beds made out of hay.

"Yay! We get our own room!" Andy flopped himself onto a bed.

"Yes, you will be staying with us at the guild. Now you two should get some sleep. Going to be a big day for you tomorrow." With that done, Chatot hopped out.

Steve also lay down onto a bed, feeling exhausted.

"You know, back then, I would've never been able to join the guild," Andy said. "But now I've done it, and it's all thanks to you." He smiled at the Riolu. "I was just so afraid of this place before, but, it seems like a really nice place."

Steve had to agree. Wigglytuff, the Guildmaster, had a rather goofy personality, and he couldn't wait to meet the other members of the guild. He yawned, raising a paw to his mouth.

"It's getting really late," Andy noted, staring at the moon through the window. "We should go to sleep. Got a big day ahead of us." He promptly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Steve stayed awake for a bit longer, pondering over everything that happened to him.

_So I got turned into a Riolu, met this Pikachu, beat up some thieves, and joined an exploration guild. What a day… But I need to find out more about myself… Why did I turn into a Pokémon? What was I doing before all this? I'm gonna find out by sticking with Andy for now._

With these last thoughts, Steve fell asleep.


	4. Pearl

**Chapter 4: Pearl**

"WAKE UP!"

A yell jolted Steve out of his deep sleep.

"HEY! RISE and SHINE!" the voice boomed, the sound assaulting Steve's ears. He clamped both paws over his ears and tried to look at who was shouting so loudly. Andy was also awake, pulling his own ears down.

The Pokémon standing in the doorway of their new bedroom was a purple Pokémon with round ears. Its huge, wide open mouth was the source of the noise.

"I'm LOUDRED, a FELLOW APPRENTICE!" the mouth roared.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut. Andy fell forward, still grasping his ears down tight.

"I'M NOT GONNA GET IN TROUBLE JUST BECAUSE YOU NEW GUYS CAN'T GET TO THE MORNING BRIEFING!" Loudred shouted. "MOVE IT!" He left, muttering something about lazy recruits.

"Is it over?" Andy whimpered, still on the floor.

"I think so," Steve said, his head pounding. "Come on, Andy. We have to go to the morning briefing, or whatever."

Andy stood up shakily, massaging his ears. He followed Steve out of their room to go to the morning briefing.

Steve and Andy were still rubbing their ringing ears during the morning briefing, and they didn't really pay much attention. When it was over, the other guild members scattered to do their jobs while Team Galaxy stood there, looking lost. Chatot noticed and beckoned them over.

"You two should come with me." Chatot flew up the hole and Steve and Andy followed, climbing up the ladder. They were led to one of the boards.

"Okay, we should get you started with a job from this board," Chatot said.

"A job?" Steve repeated, still making sure his hearing was good.

Chatot nodded. "Correct. Because time has been going out of whack lately, there has been numerous problems and all kinds of Pokémon have requested help."

_Time? Time as in hours and minutes? Is something wrong with time around here?_

"Also, it may or may not be the fault of time, but we've seen many more mystery dungeons appearing," Chatot continued.

"Mystery dungeons?" Steve echoed.

"Yeah," Andy said. "That cave we went in yesterday was a mystery dungeon. When you go in one, the layout is always gonna be different, but there's treasure and items to be found too. But if you faint, you'll get knocked out with half your money and half your items," Andy finished.

Chatot smiled, impressed at the Pikachu's knowledge. "You sure know a lot, don't you?" He then turned to the board and scanned with his eyes for a job. "Hmm… maybe this one will do." Plucking a note from the board with a wing, he handed the note to Andy, who began reading it.

"_Dear Explorers, I need help with finding my pearl. It is my most prized possession and without it, I can't control myself. Fortunately, I've gotten word that it's in Drenched Bluff. I can't go to a dangerous place by myself, so I must ask, could you go there and get it for me please? I would really appreciate it. Sincerely, Spoink._"

Andy looked up, frowning. "Aw, can't we do something more interesting? Like exploring ruins and making discoveries?"

Steve silently agreed, this particular job sounding boring.

"Hush! You are rookies and you will need to pay your dues!" Chatot snapped, making the Pikachu flinch. "I will warn you one more time: if you get kicked out of a dungeon, you will lose half your money and items. Now shoo! Get to it!"

Andy sighed, lowering his head. Steve patted him on the shoulder, assuring him it would be alright. Breaking into a smile, Andy went up the ladder, Steve in tow.

* * *

Drench Bluff, as the name implied, was a rather drenched place. It was rocky, and the water dripped into tiny shallow pools in some places. Steve noted it felt like Beach Cave, the first mystery dungeon he'd ever been in.

"Okay, let's do it," Steve said with a smile. Andy returned it his own smile, and they proceeded in.

Shellos, small, slug‑like Pokémon, were an abundance in Drenched Bluff, but they went down without giving the team any problems. Steve attacked many of the Water‑type Pokémon that approached, with Andy helping occasionally.

The Pikachu also knew about a majority of the items found lying on the floor and informed Steve that he shouldn't eat a blue Oren Berry he had found, as its appearance was similar to an Oran Berry. Oran Berries healed wounds, but Oren Berries could make them sick.

Steve and Andy encountered Chingling, Pokémon that looked like a bell with a red and white ribbon on the back. One wrapped around Steve's head with its ribbon, choking him. Andy tackled it, and it fainted, unwrapping Steve.

"Nice one, Andy," Steve said, coughing.

They finally reached the end of the dungeon. A small fountain in the back flowed with water. On the steps to the fountain was a glittering object.

"This must be Spoink's pearl," Steve said as he picked it up and examined it. Indeed it was a pearl, and Steve put it in their bag before heading home.

Team Galaxy arrived back at the guild. Spoink was hopping up and down in front of one of the boards. Their client looked like a grey pig having a coily spring for legs. Steve handed him the pearl, which the pig gratefully placed it atop his own head.

"Whew," Spoink said, relieved. "Thank you so much for getting my pearl for me. Without it, I just bounced and sprung everywhere, bumping my head on everything."

Steve had to admit, Spoink looked rather beat up, with several bumps and scrapes on his head. Spoink then presented a bag of Poké coins.

"Two thousand Poké?" Andy gasped in disbelief. "For us?"

Spoink bounced happily. "But there's nothing more valuable to me than my pearl, so you can have it." He bounced up the ladder leading out.

Chatot hopped over to the explorers. "Nice work out there. Now if you'll excuse me…" The bird swiped the money bag with a wing.

"_What?!_" Andy and Steve cried at the same time.

"Here's your share of the money." Chatot gave them back a few coins.

"Only two hundred Poké?" Andy said after counting them. "Why?"

"The guild has to get its money from somewhere," Chatot explained. "I'm sorry. It's a guild rule, and you two are just going to have live with it."

Andy grumbled something about being ripped off as they went down the ladder.

All the guild members were back later that evening, chatting to each other.

"Dinner's ready!" Chimecho called. Chimecho was a guild member who looked like a wind chime with a bluish white body. She apparently prepared the food the guild had.

The guild members rushed to the mess hall to have dinner. It was a nice mix of berries; Chimecho really knew how to make them.

After having dinner, Steve and Andy returned to their room. Andy sat down on his bed and sighed.

"It was pretty disappointing when Chatot took most of our money," he said. "But I really liked being thanked by Spoink. Helping Pokémon in need is more important than getting lots of money."

"Just what I was thinking," Steve agreed. He lay down on his bed, getting comfortable. Andy did the same.

_It's really fun living here at the guild… But the question remains: who am I?_

Steve thought for a minute, staring at the moon outside the window.

_Oh, well, the answers aren't gonna come instantly… They'll come, eventually._

Steve drifted off to dreamland.


	5. Visions

**Chapter 5: Visions**

"UP AND AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!"

Steve sat up, yawning and stretching. At least Loudred wasn't being a long alarm clock this time, as he had already left. Andy sat up as well, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Alright!" Andy hopped to his feet. "Today's a new day of adventure!"

"It's our second day here," Steve said, standing up. "Let's do our best." They stood up and walked out to go to the morning briefing. After it was done, Andy turned to Steve.

"What do you think they'll have us do this time?" Andy asked. Luckily, Chatot called them over again, and the team obliged. Following the bird up the ladder, they stood in front of the other bulletin board.

"We're doing a job on this board now?" Steve asked. "How's this one any different?"

"Take a look for yourself." With a wing, Chatot pointed at the new board.

Steve and Andy scanned it. Pictures of rather sinister looking Pokémon decorated this board.

"Who are the Pokémon in the pictures?" Andy asked. "Famous explorers or something?"

"I don't think so," Steve murmured.

"They are outlaws," Chatot corrected. "Each of them has a bounty on their head for their wrongdoing and since there are many, everyone has been finding it difficult to deal with this problem. That is where you come in."

"But they look so scary," Andy said, a little nervous. Steve had to agree. How could they take on so many outlaws?

"Hush, you're only going to take an outlaw one at a time, so there's nothing to worry about!" Chatot said.

Steve still had slight qualms about this, and Andy said again that they looked scary.

Chatot sighed. "Well, I suppose it's only natural you would be hesitant about this whole thing. But I think you should familiarize yourselves with the services in the town to get ready." He turned and shouted, "Bidoof! Bidoof!"

"Yep, yep, I'm comin'!" said a voice. Steve and Andy looked to see a Bidoof come towards them. He kind of looked like plump, tail‑less mouse with brown fur and buck teeth. He skid to a stop in front of Chatot.

"Ya called?" Bidoof panted. Clearly he wasn't the fit type, as he was gasping and sweating already.

Chatot pointed to Team Galaxy. "These are our newest recruits, and I want you to show them around."

"Yep, yep, I can do that, consider it done!" Bidoof said.

"Good, I'll leave you to it." Chatot headed for the hole going down, before turning around and adding, "Oh, and please don't mess anything up." The way Chatot said this implied that Bidoof had screwed up before.

"I won't," Bidoof replied. "I promise!"

Chatot gave him a smile before going down the hole. Bidoof turned to the new recruits, shaking in excitement.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked.

"I finally have someone junior to me. Before ya'll showed up, I was the newest recruit around!" Bidoof shed a few tears, before composing himself. "Alright, let's get to it. Follow me." He went down the ladder, Steve and Andy following.

Pointing to the left, Bidoof said, "That leads to the bedrooms." Then he pointed to the right. "That way's to the mess hall." He pointed to the shop in the corner. "And that there is Croagunk's shop, but honestly, I don't have any idea what that Pokémon does, yup yup."

Steve had seen Croagunk before, standing with his back towards him as the dark blue, frog‑like Pokémon hunkered over something. Croagunk also had two white stripes across his belly, and black hands and feet. Steve had tried speaking to him, but Croagunk shooed him away, claiming he was busy.

"We're gonna go up now," Bidoof spoke. The three apprentices climbed up the ladders and headed outside the guild, walking down the stairs.

At the crossroads, there was a well, and Bidoof pointed to it. "You can regroup at that there spot when you want to relax and take a break, yup yup." He pointed at the path to the east. "Any of the dungeons is thatta way. To the south is the beach, and that way is to Treasure Town," Bidoof said, pointing to the path on the west. "Follow me, I can show ya'll the town, too."

Treasure Town was a very peaceful place. Crowds of Pokémon roamed the wide streets. Along the road sat several shops. Overall, this little town was a thriving paradise.

"Welcome to Treasure Town," Bidoof said.

Andy perked up. "Ooh, ooh, I can tell you about Treasure Town, too!" He pointed to a mostly grey shop with a some kind of skull design on the front.

"That's Duskull Bank, where you can store your Poké and never lose it." The owner looked just like the design of the bank. Steve figured the owner was a Duskull.

"And that's Electivire's link shop," Andy continued, indicating a yellow shop further down the road, past the town square. "He helps you chain together your moves so you can unleash them right after another, but it doesn't look like he's there right now." Steve looked at the shop, and it was indeed, empty.

Moving on, the three Pokémon crossed a bridge over a wide, but gentle stream.

"That's the Kecleon Market." Andy pointed at a shop with shelves full of items. Both the Kecleons who ran the market appeared to be chameleons, with the one on the left green in color, and the one on the right purple. An orange, zigzag pattern went across their bellies.

Andy indicated one last shop at the end of the town. "And that's Kangaskhan's Storage. You can leave your items with her, never fearing they will be lost! She even stores more items for higher ranked teams."

Andy turned to Steve and Bidoof. "Well, that's pretty much the shops exploration teams visit."

"Ya sure know a lot, yup, yup." Bidoof was pleasantly surprised.

"This is my hometown," Andy said. "Of course I would know what it has."

"Thanks, Bidoof," Steve said. "You've been really kind." Bidoof blushed and turned away in shyness.

"Aw shucks, it was nothin'." Bidoof turned back to the two recruits, his blush gone. "Alrighty then, I'll be waitin' for ya back at the guild. When you're ready, just come to me and I'll find ya an outlaw."

Steve and Andy nodded, as Bidoof headed back to the guild.

"Okay, so we should visit the Kecleon Market and get some supplies," Andy said. Steve agreed, and the two stepped over to the shop.

"_Welcome to our shop!_" the twin Kecleons said simultaneously. There wasn't anything particularly useful, as Team Galaxy only had a little more than two hundred Poké. Steve bought a few Oran Berries, as they were relatively cheap. Steve was finishing up his shopping when two Pokémon approached the shop. Steve and Andy stepped aside to give them room.

"Hello, Misters Kecleon!"

"Ah, Marill and little Azurill! Welcome!" The Kecleons greeted the customers, familiarity in their tones.

Marill was a blue, round‑shaped mouse with a white belly, big, round ears, and a black, squiggly tail with a blue ball at the end.

Azurill was smaller, looking similar to Marill, but lacked arms. His tail was bigger and sat on it, the tail being bigger than his whole body. His tail must have been very light, as Azurill had no issues with movement.

"Hello, may I buy an apple?" Marill asked.

The Kecleon brothers happily took the money in exchange for the apple, placing the purchased item in a small bag. Marill thanked the twin brothers and left with Azurill.

"Those two are brothers," the green Kecleon said. "Their poor mother has fallen ill recently and they've impressively stepped up to take care of her and really be in charge." There was a bit of fondness in his tone.

The two brothers came running back to the shop.

"Misters Kecleon!" Marill cried. "There was an extra apple!" He held up a second apple.

"We didn't pay for this many," Azurill added.

"Ah, yes, that was a gift from me and my brother," said the green Kecleon. "Please accept it, and enjoy!" Marill and Azurill looked overjoyed at their generosity.

With cries of gratitude, the blue brothers headed back down the road. But Azurill tripped, hitting his head on the ground. The apple he had been holding rolled to a stop at Steve's feet. Picking it up, he walked over to the Azurill.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, concerned. Azurill hopped up and nodded.

"Sorry to bother you," he said, as Steve handed him back his apple.

That's when it happened.

Steve got dizzy all of a sudden.

_Ugh… what's happening?"_

Steve saw a bright flash and everything went dark.

"_H-H-HELP!_" _someone screamed._

There was another flash and Steve stood there, blinking, back in the daylight.

_What was that?!_

Steve frantically looked around, trying to see who had screamed. His gaze fell on the Azurill, who looked confused.

"Is something wrong, Mister?" Azurill asked. Then Marill's voice called out.

"Azurill, come on! Let's get back to finding our lost item!"

"Coming!"

Thanking the Riolu again, Azurill hopped to join Marill. Steve just stood there, not saying a word. Andy didn't notice his expression.

"Marill and Azurill are so sweet..." He glanced at Steve and noticed the stunned expression on his partner's face. "What's the matter, Steve?"

"Did… did you hear a scream a second ago?" Steve asked hesitantly.

"...No?" Andy turned to the Kecleons. "Did you just hear a scream?" They shook their heads, saying they didn't hear anything. Andy turned back to Steve.

"Maybe you were just hearing things," Andy said.

_No, I'm pretty sure someone screamed, and it was Azurill…_

Confused, Steve shrugged. "Let's just go back to the guild now."

When walking back to the town square, Steve noticed Marill and Azurill talking to a yellow Pokémon with a brown bottom and a short elephant‑like nose.

"What's up?" Steve said, as he and Andy approached them. Marill, Azurill, and the yellow Pokémon turned to the Riolu.

"Me and Azurill lost an item recently, and Mr. Drowzee here thinks he may have found it!" Marill exclaimed.

"I'm so happy, yay!" Azurill bounced excitedly on his tail.

"Aw, I would have a cold heart if I didn't help someone in need like this," Drowzee said with a smile. "Come on, let's start our search."

Marill and Azurill left, crying out in joy. Drowzee proceeded to follow, but bumped into Steve.

"Whoops, pardon me," Drowzee apologized before following the two brothers.

Steve almost didn't hear, as he was getting dizzy again.

_What? Another one?_

A white flash hit Steve's vision, but this time he saw a darkened scene that looked like someplace on a mountain. He could see Drowzee glaring at a terrified Azurill.

"_If you keep resisting like this, it will mean big trouble for_ _you!_"_ Drowzee shouted._

"_H-H-HELP!_" _Azurill screamed._

Another flash brought Steve back to the present. He stumbled backwards a little.

_What the…!_

Andy was watching the three Pokémon leave, smiling. "That Drowzee sure is nice. With all the bad things happening nowadays, it's kinda hard to do good deeds like that."

Steve shook his head. Andy's statement blatantly contradicted what Steve just saw in his vision. Andy glanced over at him, noticing his rather horrified expression.

"What's the matter?" The Pikachu tilted his head slightly in confusion. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Can… can you come over here?" Steve asked. "I-I need to tell you something."

Puzzled on what his partner could want, Andy followed him to a fairly empty street.

"Listen, I think that Drowzee is a bad guy. I saw him terrorizing Azurill in a weird vision I had."

"What?!" Andy's reaction was to be expected.

"I know it's kinda hard to believe, but you gotta trust me!" Steve pleaded.

Andy rubbed his chin. "Well, we are just rookies after all." He chuckled. "We can't just go barging into the slightest bit of danger."

"But I..." Steve looked down at the ground.

Andy placed a paw on his shoulder. "Come on, Bidoof's waiting for us."

Steve sighed and followed Andy back to the guild.

"Ya'll ready to take down an outlaw?" Bidoof said when the three apprentices stood in front of the board on the right. Steve nodded.

"Alright then, let's choose a law breaker for ya to capture."

"Don't pick anyone scary, please," Andy murmured.

"Gotcha," Bidoof said, when a voice behind the boards yelled.

"Caution! Updating boards! Please stand clear! Updating boards! Please stand clear!"

Steve and Andy jumped, backing away. Bidoof backed away as well.

The outlaw board flipped over, and was now displaying a blank piece of wood.

"Why'd it do that?" Steve asked.

"They're updating the boards," Bidoof replied. "There's a member called Dugtrio who updates the revolving job boards. It ain't a job that gets noticed too often, but it's mighty important."

"Update complete! Stand clear! Update complete! Stand clear!" the voices belonging to Dugtrio called from behind the board.

"Sounds like he's done," Steve said as the board flipped back, displaying new content.

"Alright, the board's refreshed, so we can get ya an outlaw now," Bidoof said cheerily.

"Steve, look! Up there on the left!" Andy suddenly cried, pointing at a picture on the upper left.

Steve looked and when he saw it, his eyes widened.

_I knew it!_

On the board, posted on the top left corner, was a picture of the same Drowzee who was speaking with Marill and Azurill several minutes ago.

"Azurill's in trouble! We gotta go, now!" Andy and Steve dashed out of the guild, Bidoof puzzled at their behavior.

Marill stood at the crossroads near the stairs, a worried expression on his face. Upon seeing Team Galaxy, he waved to them.

"Hi, I-"

"Marill, where's Azurill?!" Andy demanded.

Marill was surprised at the Pikachu's outburst. "Um… yeah, Drowzee and Azurill went off somewhere and I lost them, and they haven't come back for a while now," he said in a worried tone.

Andy immediately asked Marill where he last saw them.

Several minutes later, they neared the entrance of Mt. Bristle.

"They went this way, right?" Andy asked, staring up at the mountain before them.

Marill nodded. "Just be careful."

"Don't worry, we will," Steve assured him. "We'll find them."

With a nod to each other, Steve and Andy rushed up the mountain.

Mt. Bristle had a rough terrain, with rocks and debris scattered about. Wild Pokémon encountered in this dungeon were Geodude, which looked like rocks with a face and arms. Steve took them down easily, only sustaining minor injuries from their rocky tackles.

A little, grey bird called Starly attempted to sneak up behind Steve, only for Andy to take it out, as he was bringing up the rear, preventing Pokémon from sneaking up on them. Steve was getting tired at this point and Andy handed him an apple he had found to munch on. Feeling refreshed, Steve marched on, Andy right behind him.

They finally reached the end of the mountain trail when they heard a voice cry for help.

"H-H-HELP!"

The scream jogged Steve's memory. He and Andy ran faster. Upon reaching a room, Steve saw Drowzee standing over a terrified Azurill.

"Hey! Stop!" Steve demanded.

Drowzee whirled around, somewhat shocked to see them.

"We're Team Galaxy, and we're here to stop you, you bully!" Andy held his badge out.

Drowzee noticed the badges they wore, and worry came across his face.

"A-an exploration t-team?" he stammered. "You c-came to apprehend…" He stopped when he noticed something. "Wait a second, are you trembling?"

Steve glanced at Andy, who was indeed trembling in fear. The Pikachu looked incredibly nervous as he stared at the outlaw.

"Ah, you're just some total rookies, eh?" Drowzee said, chuckling.

Andy gulped. Drowzee laughed before his expression turned serious.

"I'm an outlaw, yeah. Think you can take me on, rookies?"

Andy stopped trembling, and glared at the outlaw.

"Yes!" he shouted. "Yes we can!"

"I've seen many exploration teams before." Drowzee shook his head. "But never have I seen one as sorry looking as you two."

"You wanna fight us?" Steve smacked his two fists together. "Bring it on."

"Okay, kids," Drowzee said, "don't expect me to go easy on you."

Steve rushed forward with a punch, but to his surprise, Drowzee simply sidestepped the attack. He hit Steve with a punch of his own, knocking the Riolu back. Andy shot an electric stream at the outlaw, only for him to dodge it with perfect timing.

"How's he dodging our attacks like that?" Steve asked.

"Steve, he's a Psychic‑type Pokémon!" Andy jumped away from Drowzee's punch.

Steve wondered how that information would help, when Drowzee announced an attack.

"Psychic!"

A blast of psychic power struck Steve's head, making him fall. He clutched his skull with both paws, shutting his eyes tight.

"Yah! That really hurt!" Steve cried.

"Hey! Don't hurt my partner like that!" Andy dashed towards Drowzee, picking up speed quickly. He leapt in the air, aiming at Drowzee.

"Quick Attack!"

The lightning-quick tackle hit its mark, and Drowzee fell backwards. Andy took this opportunity to run to Steve's side and help him up.

"Why'd that hurt so much?" Steve whined, rubbing his head.

"You're a Fighting‑type Pokémon," Andy said. "Drowzee's a Psychic‑type. His psychic attacks deal a lot more damage to you!"

Steve nodded and took out an Oran Berry, eating it graciously.

Drowzee was standing, having recovered. "That was a lucky shot!"

"Well, yeah? Here's another one." Steve dashed forward with his arm pulled back. He leapt at the outlaw, thrusting his paw forward.

"Force Palm!"

Steve struck Drowzee with a powerful palm strike. The outlaw collapsed on the ground with a groan. He didn't get up.

Andy approached Azurill, who was sitting nervously in the corner. "Are you okay?" he asked him.

"Y-yes, I'm fine," Azurill responded.

Andy smiled warmly. "Glad to see you're okay. Let's get back, your brother's waiting."

Back at the foot of Mt. Bristle, the local police took Drowzee under custody.

Officer Magnezone looked like a UFO with a single, red eye and two magnets on his "shoulders". Two Deputy Magnemite were spheres with two magnets for "arms", and a large screw on top of each of their heads.

The police thanked Steve and Andy for their efforts, and left with Drowzee, who was looking sorry for himself.

"Azurill!"

Marill came running up to his brother.

"I'm so happy you're okay!" Marill said, hugging his brother.

"Oh, Marill, I was so scared!" Azurill wailed.

Steve and Andy watched the two brothers with smiles on their faces.

Back at the guild, Chatot congratulated Team Galaxy.

"Great work, you two. Here's your share of the bounty." He gave them three hundred Poké.

"Only three hundred for all that?" Andy said.

"Yep," Chatot replied. "I expect no less from you two next time." The bird left the team on their own.

"I wanted just a teeny bit more money," Andy complained. "Oh well, at least we rescued Azurill." He turned to Steve, smiling. "And it's all thanks to that vision you had!"

Steve realized things could have gotten bad quickly if he hadn't had that vision.

"That ability might be useful in the future!" Andy said happily.

At that moment, Chimecho announced that dinner was ready. Their stomachs rumbled at the same time, Team Galaxy burst out laughing. They headed for the mess hall to have dinner.

"Oh my gosh, I heard about your job today," Sunflora said, who was a Grass‑type that looked like a yellow and green flower. "I could hardly believe it when I heard!"

"Hey, hey, there's plenty of outlaws to go around nowadays," Corphish, a red lobster‑like Pokémon said.

"I heard it's because of the _Time Gears_," Andy spoke up, chewing a berry.

"Nonsense!" Chatot flapped his wings. "Even the worst criminals stay away from the Time Gears."

"What happens if they're stolen?" Steve asked.

Chatot shot him a questioning look, before answering. "That would be quite obvious. Time would come to a complete halt at their location, which is why everyone knows well enough to leave them be."

The guild finished their dinner, and went to bed.

It was storming that night. Rain fell and lightning flashed every several minutes.

Steve and Andy lay in their beds.

"Hey, Steve," Andy said. "Are you still awake?"

"Yeah."

"I've been thinking it over since it happened," Andy said.

"You mean the weird vision I had?"

"That's right."

_Trying to get back my memory... _Steve thought. _Do the visions have anything to do with it?_

"Your vision helped us catch that bad Pokémon, anyway," Andy said.

"That reminds me... Chatot said that the growing number of bad Pokémon is because of time going out of whack," Steve said.

"You're right," Andy replied. "Time is getting messed up, bit by bit. No one seems to know why, but everyone thinks the Time Gears are involved."

"What are they, exactly?"

"The Time Gears keep time flowing," Andy explained. "I heard there's one in a forest, one in an underground lake, and even one in a volcano."

"Interesting..."

"Let's just think about it tomorrow." Andy shut his eyes "Good night, Steve."

"Good night, Andy."

The two of them drifted off to sleep.


	6. Waterfall

**Chapter 6: Waterfall**

Steve and Andy had been following the guild's routine for several days now. Chatot allowed them to pick their own jobs by themselves.

One day, Loudred called them over to take over Diglett's job for a while, as the mole had to do something for his dad, who was Dugtrio. Loudred told Steve and Andy what to do, then they went down the hole for sentry duty.

Steve found that he was quite good at sentry duty, as he correctly identified most of the visitors to the guild. Andy identified the ones he did not. Chatot later awarded them for their efforts, saying he was very impressed.

After the briefing one morning, Chatot got Team Galaxy's attention.

"So, I've seen that you have been doing a very good job for a new team," he said. "Therefore, I believe it's time for you to do a proper exploration worthy of a true exploration team."

"What do you want us to do?" Andy asked, already getting excited at the mention of "proper exploration".

Chatot told them to pull out their wonder map, and the bird surveyed it.

"There." Chatot pointed at a location a little to the north‑east of Treasure Town. "On the map, as you can see, there is a waterfall located there. I want you two to uncover any secrets the place may have."

Andy held back tears. "I'm just so excited I could burst…" He raced out of the guild. "Come on, Steve!"

Chuckling, the Riolu took off after him.

When they came to the crossroads, they noticed a hole near a wooden sign.

"Hey, what's that?" Andy asked. They walked over to have a closer look.

"There's stairs leading down into the hole," Steve said when he saw a staircase in the hole. He looked at the sign. "Something's written on the sign, too."

"_Spinda's Cafe! A Shop of Hopes and Dreams, Opening Soon! Win Big!_" Andy read. "Must be a new shop opening here soon."

"Hopes and Dreams?" Steve chuckled. "Wonder what kind of shop it'll be! Anyway, let's come back when they open."

* * *

The waterfall wasn't very far, Steve and Andy having reached it quickly by merely walking. They stood on a rock ledge before the wall of water, which was crashing down hard.

"Where should we start looking?" Andy wondered.

Steve glanced around. There wasn't anything particularly interesting, as the waterfall was the only thing there.

Andy walked into the wall of water and got knocked backwards. "Yow!" He shook water off his head. "I didn't think it came down _that _hard!"

Steve walked towards the waterfall and slowly stretched an arm out. The force of the water made him jump back. He shook his paw rapidly to relieve the pain.

"See? It's really coming down hard!" Andy said. "I don't see anything here; where do we even start looking?"

A familiar dizzy sensation hit Steve.

_This thing again?_

The flash came then he was looking at the waterfall. Someone oval‑shaped walked forward, dark like a shadow. After looking around a bit, the figure soon jumped into the waterfall. Steve's sight followed the figure through the waterfall, and to his amazement, a cave was behind it. The figure looked around once more before proceeding into the cave.

The second flash hit, and Steve stumbled, trying to not fall.

_Another vision? I saw something... But what did I just see?_

As he contemplated this, Andy noticed his face.

"What's wrong, Steve?" he asked, before realizing. "Did you have another vision?"

Steve nodded. "I think there's a cave behind the waterfall. I saw someone jump through the water."

"You say there's a cave behind it?" Andy repeated, nervous. "I-I don't know… That's a lot of water, and if there's just a rock wall back there…" He shuddered from the thought.

Andy turned to his partner, nervousness in his face. "Are you _absolutely _sure about this?"

Steve wasn't totally sure, but the last vision he had turned out to be true. Why not this one?

"Okay… I'm gonna trust you on this one, Steve," Andy said determinedly. "We'll jump into the waterfall. Together."

Steve nodded in agreement. The duo walked back to get a running start at the waterfall.

"I gotta be brave… gotta be brave…" Andy chanted to himself.

"Alright!" Steve shouted. "On three!"

"One…"

Andy tensed up.

"Two…"

Steve lowered himself into a dashing stance.

"Three!"

Both Pokémon dashed and leapt into the waterfall, screaming the whole way. They flew through the water and landed on hard ground. Steve got up, shaking the cold water off his fur, Andy doing the same. This was the same cave Steve saw in his vision, and it was a bit dark, since little light was coming through the waterfall. Nonetheless, they could still see several feet in front of them.

"Wow, you were right, Steve!" Andy exclaimed, looking around. "There is a cave back here! Let's go!"

"Right!" Steve said and they ventured inside.

Waterfall Cave turned out to be a complex dungeon, though it wasn't really difficult. Wild Pokémon such as Whoopers and Barboach blocked their path, but Steve took them out with no problems. Pools of water were also on the floor and water‑type Pokémon could go across them, but the two explorers could not. The team had gotten stronger in the past few days. The battles with wild Pokémon were quick and easy.

Steve and Andy reached an empty room and stopped to rest. They ate an apple each as they glanced around. Bits of rock looked like crystals in several places. Steve stood up, done eating.

"Let's move on, Andy."

The Pikachu nodded, stood up, and followed Steve deeper into the cave.

The team soon arrived at the bottom, where they saw colorful gems lying on the ground.

"Whoa…" Steve gaped at all the colorful crystals.

"Wow…" Andy's eyes shined with wonder. Their gaze turned to a particularly large, pink gem at the end of the room. They stepped over the smaller gems and approached the big one.

"Awesome! We'll be rich and famous if we haul this back to the guild!" Andy cheered, putting his paws on it, trying to pull it out of the ground. After several seconds, he backed up, panting.

"Whew… it's stuck pretty tight. Why don't you try moving it, Steve?"

Steve eyed the gem curiously before stepping up and gripping it with both paws. He pulled and pulled with all the strength he could muster. The pink gem didn't budge an inch. He backed off, shaking his head.

"No good," Steve said. "It's really stuck tight."

"Let me try again."

As Andy tried to pull the gem out a second time, Steve received another dizzy spell.

_Another one of these… okay…_

The flash hit, and Steve saw the same chamber they were in right now. The oval‑shaped figure from before wandered in and looked around. Steve noticed the shadowy figure had long, rabbit ears. Then the figure tripped and stumbled into the pink gem in the back. The gem shifted a little, and the ground started shaking. The figure glanced around in alarm when a huge wave of water came crashing through the chamber.

Abruptly, the vision ended and Steve quickly analyzed what he just saw.

_The gem! It's a...!_

"Argh, it just won't budge," Andy groaned. "Maybe if I try rocking it out…"

"Andy, wait-!" Steve began, but it was too late; the Pikachu had already pushed the gem. It shifted back into place with a click like a switch. A loud rumbling noise echoed from the right.

"What's that noise?" Andy wondered, oblivious to Steve's panicked expression.

Then a huge wave of water flowed into the room.

"RUN!" Steve screamed as the water came crashing through. Andy yelped and attempted to escape as well, but the wave of water caught up to them, sweeping their feet off the ground. The water carried them out of the tunnel.

It was a terrifying and also a fun experience at the same time, being swept through the tunnel by water. Steve and Andy tried to keep their heads above the surface, only to choke and cough up water a few times. They finally got to the end, high up in the air. Both screamed as they fell into a body of water below. They landed with a big splash.

"Ugh…" Steve woke up a minute later, feeling like he was floating in water.

"Are you two okay?" someone asked. Steve glanced around, seeing steam rising from rocks and the water they were in was actually quite comfortable.

"Both of you dropped out of the sky and startled everyone," Teddiursa, a little bear Steve had met once, said.

Wiping his face with a paw, Steve sat up and asked, "Where are we?"

"This is the Hot Spring," said Torkoal, an old turtle Pokémon standing on the rocks. "I am Torkoal. Do you have a map? May I take a gander at it?"

Andy found their mercifully dry treasure bag on the rocks. He retrieved it and took out the map. Laying it out for Torkoal to see, the elder pointed at the map with a foot.

"We are here," Torkoal said." This is the Hot Spring. Pokémon come here all the time to relax and unwind." The Hot Spring was a ways to the right of Treasure Town and Waterfall Cave.

"Whoa, that water carried us all the way over here from that waterfall?" Andy blinked, amazed.

"Oh, my, that water carried you all the way here?" Torkoal said. "You two had a rough trip, haven't you? Please relax here and enjoy yourselves."

"Let's rest up here, okay, Steve?" Andy said, putting the map away and placing their treasure bag on the rocks.

"Sounds good to me," Steve replied, before sitting down.

The other Pokémon soon went back to enjoying themselves as well.

It took a few minutes for Steve to realize something.

"Darn, our scarves got really wet." He removed the accessory and tossed it near the treasure bag.

"I totally forgot about these," Andy said, taking off his scarf and throwing it toward the bag as well.

After relaxing at the Hot Spring for a while, Steve and Andy went back to the guild. They explained to Chatot all that transpired in their exploration.

"We couldn't bring back that big gem, sorry." Andy hung his head.

"My word, no, no, no, this is wonderful news!" Chatot said. "You two discovered a cave behind that waterfall that no one else knew about! It's a tremendous discovery!"

Andy looked up, his mood lifting. Steve had other thoughts.

_No one knew about that cave? That figure I saw... The oval shape, the long ears… It's gotta be him…_

"No." Steve cut Chatot off about informing the Guildmaster. "I think the Guildmaster already knows, 'cause he was there before."

Chatot flapped his wings in shock. Andy also looked surprised.

"No! That simply cannot be true! If that were the case, he would've told me!" Chatot squawked.

Steve shrugged. "Ask him then. I don't want to claim a discovery someone else already made. It'll just be wrong."

Chatot frowned and asked them to wait outside the door while he asked the Guildmaster.

A minute later, Chatot hopped out of the Guildmaster's room.

"What did the Guildmaster say?" Andy asked, curious.

Chatot thought for a moment before explaining.

"Well, he yelled out 'YOOM‑TAH!'" The bird flapped his wings to emphasize the words. "Then he danced around a little, then he said 'Yes, yes, when I think about it, I might've gone there once or twice.'," Chatot finished.

Surprised by the bird's acting, Steve and Andy just gaped at him.

"In short, it's just as Steve suspected: Guildmaster Wigglytuff has already been to that cave before."

"Oh, I wish he could've told us sooner…" Andy lowered his head. Steve instantly felt bad for spoiling his partner's mood.

Chatot sighed. "Yes, well, the Guildmaster can be a bit… odd at times. "Even I can't fathom whatever goes on in that head of his."

Steve and Andy giggled, thinking about the Guildmaster's "oddness". Wigglytuff slept with his eyes open a lot, and during dinner, he would spin around in place, balancing an apple on his head.

"Anyway, keep up the good work, you two," Chatot said.

After dinner, Team Galaxy returned to their room. Andy placed the soaked scarves in the corner to dry.

"Sorry about, y'know, spoiling our 'discovery'," Steve apologized.

Andy sighed. "It's alright. Besides, I don't think I've ever been that brave. Fighting Drowzee had been one thing, but jumping into that waterfall? Brrr… I don't think I could've done it without you." The Pikachu yawned. "Well, it's getting late. We should get some shut‑eye." Andy lay down in his bed.

Steve lay down in his bed too, when Andy said, "I just occured to me… those visions of yours… you always seem to be touching something when they come."

Steve thought about it, and realized Andy was right.

_I do touch things when the visions happen… He's totally right…_

"That's really cool! It could be very useful for adventures!" Andy exclaimed.

"I just wish I could control it somehow," Steve complained.

Andy got comfortable. "Let's just go to sleep now," he said.

"Okay. Good night."

"Good night."

Team Galaxy went to sleep.


	7. Apples

**Chapter 7: Apples**

Several more days passed, and Team Galaxy worked hard around the clock. They were quite well known around the guild, but since they were still relatively new, word hadn't got around yet.

One night, Chatot came into Team Galaxy's bedroom and informed them that the Guildmaster wished to speak with them. Steve and Andy obeyed and were soon standing in front of Wigglytuff again.

"You two have been working very hard!" Wigglytuff said. "Yes, yes, and that's why I'm telling you that we're planning on having the Guild go out on an expedition soon, and you two are on the list of candidates!"

"An expedition?" Steve repeated.

"Yes," Chatot confirmed. "An expedition is when the whole guild heads out to explore a region or a place that is noteworthy. We don't hold an expedition that often, but when we do, we only select the best members."

"So, we can join this expedition?" Andy asked, his excitement popping up.

Wigglytuff nodded. "Normally we don't consider rookies as candidates for an expedition, but you two have been working very hard, so we're making an exception!"

"Alright!" Andy cried. "Let's do our best for this one, Steve!"

"_Ahem!" _Chatot cut in. "You have not been chosen yet. If you fail to do good work now, you can't expect to be chosen," he warned sternly.

Andy calmed down a little. "Let's do our best and make this work!"

"Yeah!" Steve agreed. They smacked their paws together in a high five.

The next morning, during the briefing, Chatot announced the expedition to the other guild members.

"Oh my gosh! I can't wait! I really hope I get chosen!" Sunflora exclaimed.

"There's no WAY I'm NOT getting CHOSEN," Loudred said.

"Oh, I hope I can go, I haven't been on one yet…" Bidoof mumbled.

Steve and Andy climbed up into the room where the boards were.

"Let's work our hardest to get picked for the expedition!" Andy said.

Steve nodded, before noticing two Pokémon at the boards. "Hey, haven't we seen those guys somewhere?" He pointed at the purple gas ball and the blue bat hovering in front of the job boards.

Andy realized who they were and his eyes widened. "You!"

Koffing and Zubat turned, seeing Steve and Andy for the first time since the incident at the beach.

"Hey!" Zubat screeched. "It's you two idiots!"

"What are you doing here?" Koffing asked.

"I could ask you the same question," Steve replied.

"You two were the ones who stole my Relic Fragment!" Andy was seething with anger. "Why are you here?!"

"What's wrong about an exploration team looking for jobs?" Koffing asked innocently.

"What?!" Steve and Andy yelled.

"We are an exploration team, y'know," Zubat added. "Although we don't exactly... play by the rules. But I ask again: why are you two here?"

"We're an exploration team now," Andy said boldly.

Koffing and Zubat chuckled, sharing a glance before going in on either side of Andy.

"Could you come with us for a moment? We need to talk," Koffing said.

They led Andy into a corner and started whispering.

"Are you kidding me, kid? You get scared way too easily to be an explorer," Koffing whispered.

"Yeah, you do scare too easily," Zubat added. "You're such a baby."

"Um…" Andy started.

"I'm wondering where in the world you got the nerve to start an exploration team at a guild," Koffing continued.

Andy shook his head and went back to his partner's side. "Listen! Steve and I are an exploration team now! We're working hard to get into an expedition the guild is having!"

"Whoa, ho, that's ambitious, I'll tell you that much," Koffing said.

"But you're not getting anywhere without some _real_ talent," Zubat quipped.

Andy stomped a foot. "You're one to talk! We beat you guys up before we even became an exploration team!"

Koffing smirked. "Well, we didn't have the Chief with us back there."

"Chief?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, our Chief has lots of talent," Zubat said with a chuckle.

"He's brutal…"

"...And he'll pound you two into dust," Zubat added. "Oh, smells like he's coming."

"Hey! Move it, wimp! You're in my way!" a loud voice suddenly said near where Steve was standing. The Riolu turned in surprise to see a large, purple skunk glaring at him. The skunk blasted Steve in the face with a cloud of gas, making him cough and gag. The skunk stomped up to Andy.

"Move it, pipsqueak! Or do ya wanna end up like that wimp over there?" the skunk yelled. Andy made a weird squeaking noise and moved out of the way.

"Chief Skuntank!" Koffing and Zubat greeted cheerily.

"Yeah, yeah. You two pick any good jobs?" Skuntank asked.

"No, but we did get this…"

They whispered to each other and Skuntank looked interested. Then they left the guild.

"Are you okay, Steve?" Andy asked him, who was still having a coughing fit. The Riolu nodded, plugging his nose.

"That was disgusting!"

Andy gave a hesitant chuckle. The two of them went up to the boards to pick jobs. After that they headed out of the guild.

* * *

Team Galaxy saw a Wynaut and a Wobbuffet standing near the sign at the crossroads. Wynaut had blue fur with floppy ears on the sides of his round head. His eyes appeared closed and he had a black tail. Wobbuffet was also blue and her eyes were scrunched up. She was evidently a female, due to what appeared to be a bit of red lipstick on her lips.

Wynaut noticed the two explorers and was happy to have potential customers.

"Oh! Customers, are they not?" he said. He and Wobbuffet approached the two explorers. "Good day, is it not? The new shop, Spinda's Cafe, is now open!" he announced cheerily. "This wonderful shop is full of hopes and dreams, is it not?"

"Hopes and dreams?" Steve echoed.

"That's right!" Wobbuffet raised an arm to her head in a salute.

"Hey, why not come in? Don't be shy!" Wyanut said, walking over to the entrance.

"Why not?" Steve shrugged.

"We have two guests!" Wynaut called down into the hole. Steve and Andy went down the stairs into the shop. Wynaut and Wobbuffet followed them down.

The four Pokémon came into a room with several tables set up. In the top left corner was a juice bar and to the top right was a shop. The wooden floor was decorated with several swirl designs.

A Pokémon in the back twirled and raised its arms up in the air. It approached the two new customers with a springy step. It gave a jovial bow to them.

"Hello and welcome to Spinda's Cafe!" she said. Spinda was a panda Pokémon with several red spots on her fur. Both of her eyes were swirly. "I'm Spinda. "I'm the owner of this cafe. This is a cafe for explorers!"

"Cafe for explorers?" Andy questioned.

"That's right! It's natural to want to refresh yourself with a hearty, delicious drink after exploring!" Spinda responded joyfully. "So we're delighted to bring this service to explorers, and we trust we will make them happy! Today is our grand opening! Let me show you around!" Spinda led Steve and Andy over to the bar in the top left corner.

"This is the Juice Bar," Spinda explained. It had four large containers filled with juice on the counter. In the back was a shelf with several ingredients on it. "You've collected Gummis and Apples during your explorations, right?"

Steve and Andy nodded.

"Here, I can turn those edibles into drinks!" Spinda said. "I will take your ingredient and create a delectable drink for you!"

"So if we brought you an apple, you'd turn it into apple juice?" Steve asked.

Spinda hopped happily. "That's right! That's exactly how it works! While you're enjoying a nutritious drink, you can relax and share exploration stories. Here's the next facility." They went to the shop to the right. The shop had a top shaped like Wynaut's head. Small boxes and a treasure chest sat on the counter.

"This is the Recycle Shop," Spinda said. "I bet you have a bunch of items in storage that you have little use for. Sometimes you have to throw out extra items to make room. Isn't it a waste? That's why we established this facility. You can bring your extra items here and trade them for items you want. One Pokémon's trash is another's treasure, am I right? So if you have items you don't need, come here to the Recycle Shop.

"I know that was a long tour, but I hope you have an idea of what kind of place this is," Spinda finished.

"Wow, seems like a really fun shop," Andy said.

"Thank you very much!" Spinda cheered. "It's my goal to have a place of hopes and dreams, where many explorers can gather. I hope to see you again soon here at Spinda's Cafe." She bowed again and left for the Juice Bar. Wynaut and Wobbuffet took their places in the Recycle Shop.

"Well, let's get back to exploring," Steve said. Andy nodded and they headed out to do their jobs.

* * *

The next day, they had a rather rude surprise waiting for them.

"Today, I'd like to introduce an exploration team who will be joining us on the expedition," Chatot said.

A awful, familiar smell came into the room.

"YUCK, what's that SMELL?" Loudred said.

"Eek! It smells like stinky cheese!" Sunflora covered her face.

Three Pokémon, the last Steve expected to see, were Koffing, Zubat, and Skuntank.

"I'd like to introduce these three, who will be assisting us during the expedition," Chatot said.

"Are you crazy?!" Andy yelled. "Those guys?!"

"Don't mind that little mouse," Zubat said. "He overreacts to the tiniest things."

"Oh, so you know each other already." Chatot was pleasantly surprised. "That's good to know."

"We're Team Skull," Skuntank introduced themselves to the guild.

"Since we'll be traveling together in the upcoming expedition, I've agreed to allow this team spend the next few days with us so we can all get to know each other better," Chatot said.

_Please… this can't really be happening! _Steve groaned inwardly.

"What?" Andy almost screamed.

"Is something wrong?" Chatot asked ignorantly.

"Doesn't Chatot think that something STINKS about this?" Loudred muttered. "Literally?"

Chatot shrugged. "No matter. It's time for our morning cheers!"

The cheers came less enthusiastically. Steve and everyone else understood why, but apparently Chatot did not.

"Where is your usual enthusiasm, apprentices?" he asked, concerned.

"Are you KIDDING me? Can't you even SEE what the PROBLEM is, Chatot?" Loudred said.

A small earthquake interrupted everyone.

"Oh, no," Chatot said. "The Guildmaster!"

Everyone looked at Wigglytuff, who looked incredibly upset.

"The Guildmaster's rage is building!" Chatot squawked.

"Wha- What do we do?" Andy asked.

"Everyone! Cheer happily! Even if it hurts to do so!" Chatot yelled over the earthquake. Everyone attempted cheering, with enthusiasm that was clearly forced. They stopped when the earthquake ended. Wigglytuff appeared to be happy again.

Steve looked at Andy, the same expression of disbelief on their faces.

"What is Chatot and the Guildmaster thinking?" Andy wondered. "Allowing those three into the guild?"

Steve groaned out loud. He suspected things were only going to get worse.

The next day, Steve and Andy tried to do jobs, but Team Skull was near the job board, mischievous grins on their faces. Due to their smell, the guild members opted to stay away from them. Steve and Andy picked jobs as fast as possible, sighing in relief when they got outside, the putrid smell gone.

Chatot spoke to Steve and Andy the next morning.

"I have a special task for the two of you today," he said. "I'm sending you to replenish the larder."

"So, we're looking for some food?" Andy asked.

"Yes," Chatot confirmed. "I checked this morning and the guild's food stock has dropped sharply all of a sudden. Furthermore, we're completely empty on Perfect Apples. I can't figure out why…"

"Perfect Apples?" Steve said. "What are those?"

"Perfect Apples are exceptionally large and very delicious apples," Chatot explained, growing visibly nervous. "They're the Guildmaster's favorite food, which is why I want you to go to Apple Woods to collect some. They should be deep inside."

Andy nodded, before turning to Steve. "Okay, we can do that," he said.

Chatot still looked nervous, though. "Good, but let me warn you, this is extremely important. If the Guildmaster is deprived of his Perfect Apples, he'll… he'll…" he trailed off.

"What? What happens with the Guildmaster?" Andy wondered.

Chatot took a deep breath. "He will… he will most definitely do _that_."

Steve and Andy glanced at each other and shrugged.

"I'm _begging _you two, _please _don't fail," Chatot pleaded.

"If you say so…" Steve mumbled.

* * *

Team Galaxy found themselves at the entrance to Apple Woods. The trees were dense, but allowed plenty of sunlight into the Woods. Steve could smell the scent of fresh apples all around.

"Alright, Steve," Andy began. "Let's go inside."

Steve nodded, and both of them walked into Apple Woods.

Many grass and bug‑type Pokémon bothered them throughout, and Steve found it infuriating to be paralyzed, poisoned, and being put to sleep. Andy helped his partner tremendously, and the team moved on.

Beedrill, large, bee‑like Pokémon with stingers on their forelegs attacked them, and Andy used his electricity to hit most of them at the same time. Steve supported his efforts by leaping into the air and slamming the Beedrill down into the ground. Soon it was clear, and they rested a bit, eating apples.

"We… got them…" Andy panted.

"Come on, let's keep going," Steve said. They got up and moved on.

Steve and Andy finally arrived at a clearing with a large tree in the center. Many apples were visible even from far away.

"Those must be the Perfect Apples Chatot was talking about," Andy said, as he approached the tree. "We made it!"

"Chaw‑haw‑haw! What took you so long?" said a familiar voice. "We've been waiting for a while now!"

Steve and Andy glanced up at the tree, seeing none other than Team Skull lying about in the branches.

Koffing swallowed an apple whole and said, "What's the holdup, weaklings? We've been havin' ourselves a feast here!" The purple gas ball burped loudly.

Skuntank leapt down from the tree, his cronies floating down with him.

"What are you guys doing here?" Andy shouted incredulously. Steve scanned the tree with his eyes. Only a few apples remained. If they could get them, they could please Chatot and the Guildmaster.

Skuntank suddenly turned and rammed the apple tree a few times, the apples falling down to the ground. He returned to his comrades.

"There," Skuntank said kindly. "Go on now, pick them up and deliver 'em."

Andy glared at the trio, growling. "You're gonna pull something on us if we do, aren't you?"

Koffing and Zubat turned to each other. "Aww, they didn't fall for it… that's no fun at all." The gas ball groaned.

"Ha!" Andy laughed, smirking. "I knew it!"

"What are you gonna do about it?" Skuntank said.

Steve cracked his knuckles. "We're gonna kick your sorry behinds and take those apples back to the guild!"

"Chaw‑haw‑haw!" Skuntank laughed. "Are you really now? Come on Koffing, let's get 'em."

"Right with ya, Boss!" Koffing said. "Better back off, Zubat. This'll get _stinky_!"

Zubat backed away from his comrades as they stepped forward.

Steve and Andy lowered themselves to battle stances.

"Take this! Me and Koffing's NOXIOUS GAS COMBO!" Skuntank shouted.

They fired an intense cloud of gas at Steve and Andy, who were overwhelmed by the horrible smell and passed out.

Steve and Andy woke up coughing and gagging later.

"Oh, man, did they take all the apples?" Andy asked with a groan.

Steve looked around. No apples were in sight. "I guess so…"

Andy sighed. "We're just gonna have to report back to Chatot..."

They traveled back to the guild. Chatot was waiting for them down near the boards, looking somewhat irritated.

"Where have you two been?" he asked, with a panicked expression. "Did you get any Perfect Apples?"

"Well, no…" Andy said.

"Oh no!" Chatot flapped his wings, hopping in place. "What am I going to tell the Guildmaster?"

"It wasn't our fault," Steve pointed out. "It was-"

"I don't want to hear any excuses!" Chatot cut in. "You two, are coming with me to the Guildmaster! Someone has to tell him that you _failed_ to get Perfect Apples!"

"But-"

"No buts! Also, you two are going to go without dinner tonight!" Chatot dismissed them. Expressions of disbelief were on the Riolu's and Pikachu's faces.

Team Galaxy had to stand in the back while everyone else had dinner that evening.

After dinner, Chatot led Steve and Andy into Wigglytuff's chamber. They stood nervously, while Chatot hopped forward.

"Hi, did you bring me any Perfect Apples?" Wigglytuff asked merrily.

"Um… these two failed to bring any Perfect Apples," Chatot spoke.

Wigglytuff was still smiling. "Well, don't feel bad, you two! Everyone fails now and then! Don't feel blue, don't feel blue!" He turned back to Chatot. "So, where are the Perfect Apples?"

Chatot looked incredibly nervous as Steve and Andy looked on.

"As I told you, these two did not bring back any Perfect Apples." Chatot chuckled. "So you're going to have to do with them a little while…"

Wigglytuff sniffled at the bad news. "No Perfect Apples for me...?"

"Is he gonna cry?" Steve whispered to his partner.

Wigglytuff began to wail, his crying slowly rising in pitch.

Chatot panicked. "Quick! Cover your ears!"

They covered their ears tightly, as the Guildmaster sobbed ridiculously loud.

"Hello! We've got Perfect Apples!" someone announced.

That someone was Skuntank, and his cronies. They shoved Steve and Andy aside and stepped up to the the Guildmaster, setting a Perfect Apple down at his feet.

"For me? Yay!" Wigglytuff cheered, having stopped crying.

"We just wanted to show this as a token of our friendship with the good Guildmaster we'll be accompanying on the expedition," Skuntank said.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, you've helped us avert a total disaster." Chatot sighed in relief. He turned to Steve and Andy. "Well? Show them your gratitude!"

Team Galaxy glared at Team Skull.

"Hope we can all get along on the expedition and come out successful," Skuntank said.

Chatot ate his words right up. "You three are truly an inspiring example."

"No, no," Skuntank continued, "you're the ones who inspire us. We'll be around."

Steve smacked a paw to his face, shaking his head in disbelief.

Team Skull left.

Steve and Andy were finally allowed to go to bed.

After tossing and turning in his bed, Steve sat up, his stomach rumbling.

"I just can't sleep," he said with a groan. "I need to have some food…"

"Me too," Andy agreed, rubbing his belly.

They went to bed on empty stomachs.

The next day after the morning briefing was done, Chatot called Steve and Andy.

"As usual, I want you to do jobs from the boards," he said. "However, after last night, I doubt either the two of you will be going on the expedition."

Steve and Andy sighed. What happened yesterday was weighing down their moods.

"I know the Guildmaster can seem odd and cheerful all the time, but even so, I know he was all angry over being deprived of his Perfect Apples. So I'll tell you again: don't expect to be picked to go on the expedition." Chatot went away and that was that.

"I don't feel well…" Andy moaned.

"That wasn't our fault!" Steve complained. "Team Skull deserves the punishment we got!"

"_Pssst!_ _Hey!_" a voice whispered off to their left. Steve looked over and saw Bidoof, Chimecho and Sunflora, glancing around like they didn't want to be seen.

"What's up?" Steve called.

The three guild members rushed over to Steve and Andy.

"Not so loud, by golly!" Bidoof said, and led them back to their bedroom.

Once inside, Bidoof sighed in relief. "I don't think anyone saw us, 'cept maybe Croagunk…"

"What's going on?" Andy asked.

Chimecho and Sunflora laid out apples for them.

"Apples? For us?" Steve said, looking for confirmation.

"We saw you not eating last night, and we were wondering what happened," Sunflora explained.

"Then we heard about your punishment," Chimecho continued. "We all agreed to save some apples for you."

"Really?" was all Andy said.

"I didn't think that was your fault for a minute," Sunflora said.

Steve and Andy stared at her, astonished.

"You're a good team," Chimecho said with a smile. "Now eat up!"

Steve and Andy ate the apples, satisfying their empty bellies.

"Thanks…" Andy murmured.

They felt much better than they had minutes ago.

"Everyone needs a little pick me up when they're feeling down," Chimecho said cheerily.

Andy managed a smile, but it faded as Chatot's words came back to him.

"Yeah, well, I don't think we're going on the expedition though. Chatot just told us…"

"That doesn't mean you should give up though!" Sunflora exclaimed. "You never know what might happen!"

"Thank you so much," Steve said gratefully. He turned to Andy. "Even if we won't be going, we'll still do our best, right?"

"Right!" Andy nodded, determination on his face.

They weren't going to give up.

After leaving their room, Croagunk called them over.

"I finally got my swap cauldron working again. The Swap Shop is back in business!"

"Swap Shop?" Andy wondered, tilting his head.

"Meh‑heh‑heh, yeah, that's right! This is my Swap Shop. Bring me rare items, and for a little fee, I pop 'em into my cauldron and someone else sends back somethin' even rarer. Sounds good, eh?" Croagunk explained.

"Sounds interesting," Steve commented. "We'll try it out sometime."

Steve and Andy climbed up the ladder and picked out jobs to do for the day.


	8. Expedition

**Chapter 8: Expedition**

A few more days passed and one night during dinner, Chatot had announcement to make.

"The Guildmaster has made his decision on who is going on the expedition."

Everyone got into an excited chatter at this announcement. They soon calmed down, and began eating. After dinner they went to bed, still in excitement.

"Oh, I hope we get to go, we've been working so hard for this," Andy said, settling down in bed.

Steve smiled, his heart racing. They went to sleep.

The following day...

"Alright, apprentices, today is the big day!" Chatot announced. "Today, we'll reveal who's been chosen for the expedition!" He turned to the Guildmaster, who gave the bird a piece of parchment.

"When I call your name, please step forward and stand in front!" Chatot began reading the names on the paper.

"First up is: _Loudred!_"

Loudred whooped loudly, stepping forward. "YEAH! I got CHOSEN! It would only be NATURAL for me to get CHOSEN," he bragged.

Some groaned and rolled their eyes while Steve laughed. Chatot looked at the next name on the list.

"Next, we have: _Sunflora!_"

She jumped in excitement. "Oh my gosh! I'm going! Yay!" Sunflora joined Loudred up front.

"Next!" Chatot continued, then blinked in astonishment before announcing, "Well, this is a surprise: _Bidoof!_"

"Huh? Me?" Bidoof squeaked, not moving.

Chatot stared at him. "Well? Come on up."

Bidoof didn't move. "Y-Yeah, I'm just so excited…" he stammered. "I can't move…"

"Alright, moving on!" Chatot said, glancing down at the paper again. "Finally, we have _Chimecho _and _Corphish_!"

Steve's smile faded from his face and Andy looked crestfallen. They weren't going after all… Team Skull chuckled among themselves.

"Oh, wait, there's more…" Chatot stared at the paper.

"Hmm… we also have Croagunk, Diglett, Dugtrio, and Steve and Andy too." The parrot shook his head. "Wait, WHAT?" Chatot looked at the list again, and he turned to the Guildmaster.

"Guildmaster, this list contains _every_ member of the guild!" Chatot said incredulously.

"Yep! I started writing down names but soon, I got so excited and wanted everyone to go, so I listed them all!" Wigglytuff explained.

"Then the whole selection process was meaningless!" Chatot exclaimed, flustered and fluttering in place. "Furthermore, we'll be leaving the guild completely undefended!"

Wigglytuff smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure it's fine. We'll lock up properly before we go!"

Chatot quit fluttering in place and gaped at the Guildmaster, flabbergasted.

Skuntank looked surprised at these events and stepped up. "Guildmaster, I must say, I have some concern about this."

"When a friend says that, I wonder why..." Wigglytuff raised an eyebrow, looking like he'd been insulted.

"Well, why does everyone need to go?" Skuntank said. "I mean, what's the point of having everyone participate?"

Wigglytuff hopped in place. "Of course there's a point! It'll be more fun if everyone goes!"

Skuntank stumbled back, his jaw open, at a loss for words. Steve snickered, seeing the expression on the skunk's face. Skuntank glared at him, until the Guildmaster got everyone's attention.

"And that's how it's gonna be! We're all going and we're gonna have Fun! Fun!" he shouted, raising his arms up in the air.

All the guild members responded with an deafening cheer. "HOORAY!"

Chatot sighed, shaking his head before announcing, "We'll head out in three hours! Everyone should get ready to go and meet back here. Dismissed!"

"I can't believe it! We're actually going!" Andy said, relief flooding through him.

The other apprentices joined them.

"Oh my gosh!" The Guildmaster did it _again_!" Sunflora squealed.

"Oof, it's like a dream come true…" Bidoof had tears appearing in his eyes.

"This is no dream; it is reality," Dugtrio said. "We apprentices must all work together to make this a great expedition, agreed?"

"YEAH!" Loudred shouted, the others agreeing.

"Let's do this!" Steve and everyone headed out.

After preparing their supplies, Steve and Andy spent time relaxing. The townsfolk had heard about their expedition, and wished the guild members luck.

The guild reassembled after an hour.

Chatot announced, "We'll be setting out for Foggy Forest in search of Fogbound Lake." He had a wonder map out, pointing to a location to the far east of the town and past a vast amount of land. "Legend has it that there's a lake hidden somewhere in that forest, and the lake has a treasure of utmost beauty! That's our objective for this expedition."

Everyone murmured, wondering what the treasure could be.

"We'll go in separate groups to the lake, because if we all went together, mobility would be hindered," Chatot said. "I will now set forth the groups." He turned to the Guildmaster. "The Guildmaster and myself will be traveling as a pair."

"Awww!" Wigglytuff whined. "I have to go with Chatot? Booorrring!"

Chatot looked desperate. "Please, Guildmaster, this is for the best…"

Wigglytuff muttered his complaints, as Chatot turned to the guest team.

"Team Skull will go as their own group."

"Got it." Skuntank grinned.

"As for the apprentices, the first group will be Loudred, Sunflora, and Dugtrio."

"You better not slow me DOWN," Loudred said to his group.

"Hmph!" Sunflora pouted.

"Diglett, Chimecho, Corphish, and Croagunk is the next group."

"We can do this!" Chimecho cheered at her group.

"And last but not least, we have Steve, Andy, and Bidoof," Chatot finished.

"Hope I don't slow ya'll down," Bidoof said nervously.

Steve simply smiled, and Andy nodded.

"Right then," Chatot said. "We're all set, so let's move out, apprentices!"

"Hooray!" the guild responded and they headed out.

* * *

Steve's group were on a path on the coast to the south. They arrived at a cave on Seaside Cliff. To the left was the cave and to the right was the sea. Andy pulled out their wonder map and studied it.

"We should be here." He pointed at a spot about a third of the way to their main destination. "We're at Craggy Coast right now."

"Lookie here." Bidoof pointed to a Pokémon-shaped statue sitting next to the cave entrance. "That's a Kangaskhan Rock."

The statue was indeed shaped like the Pokémon who ran the storage shop.

"You can put your items at the statues and they'll go into your storage," Bidoof said. "You can get your items at these rocks and the shop anywhere you go, yup, yup!"

"That's nice." Steve turned to the cave. "Let's go!"

Craggy Coast was another mystery dungeon, with many Water‑types dwelling in the cave. Wingull, seagull Pokémon, were the most common enemy they encountered. The group took them out easily.

Seel, aquatic seals, were also here. One blew a gust of wind at Steve. He shivered, his temperature dropping considerably. The Seel tackled the Riolu, knocking him back. Andy tackled it, and it fainted.

"S-so… c-c-cold…" Steve rubbed his arms, trying to keep warm.

"Come on, Steve, let's keep going," Andy said. More water‑types got in their way, and they took care of them.

A few minutes later, they couldn't hear the sea anymore, and the water was thinning out. Proceeding further ahead, a mountain range greeted them. A large peak waited up at the top.

Andy pulled out the map again. "We're somewhere here." He pointed at mountains a bit northwest of their destination. "This is Mt. Horn."

Bidoof's stomach rumbled. "Heh, that was my stomach growling."

Steve glanced up at the sun, which was lowering in the orange sky. "It's getting late. We should have dinner and rest up here."

"Sounds good," Andy agreed.

"Let's eat!" Bidoof cheered. "Whoo!"

The next day...

"Okay, let's join the rest of the guild, yep, yep!" Bidoof said determinedly.

They proceeded up Mt. Horn.

Many Bug and Flying‑types dominated this dungeon. Steve was at a slight disadvantage against the flying enemies, so the others had to cover for him sometimes. The Pokémon encountered up the mountain were Natu, a small green bird, Beautifly, a butterfly, Shroomish, which were little mushrooms with feet, and other wild Pokémon.

Soon the group reached the peak. They all sighed in relief.

"Golly, this path should lead us to the others," Bidoof said and they headed down the path.

A clearing before the forest greeted the group, shrouded by fog covering it. The guild was already present and had set up pink tents in the clearing.

"Where have the three of you been?" Chatot asked when he saw them. "Everyone else arrived hours ago! Come along!" He led them to where the other guild members were gathered for another meeting. Andy and Bidoof walked forward, while Steve stopped and glanced around.

_Hmm… I feel like… I've been here before…_

"Hey! Steve!" Andy shouted at him.

Steve jumped, startled.

"What's the matter? You daydreaming? C'mon, we should get to the meeting!" Andy said and headed for the meeting area.

Steve followed him to the meeting place, still thinking.

_I know this place. I've definitely been here before! How...?_

"Now that we're all accounted for, I will brief all of you on the forest that lies ahead," Chatot said to the guild, breaking Steve out of his thoughts. "As you can all see, the fog is thick. It's incredibly difficult to see anything more than a few feet in front of you."

Steve glanced deeper into the forest. He could see nothing but the white fog.

"We'll all travel separately to search this forest individually," Chatot continued. "If anyone finds anything important, report back to the camp and inform the Guildmaster or myself."

Murmurs of agreement swept across the apprentices.

"We have two objectives here: first is to find the lake, but since the fog is too thick, doing so may prove impossible. So the second objective is to find a way to possibly lift the fog. Does everyone understand?"

"Got it," Andy spoke up for the guild.

"I've got something to say," Chimecho piped up. Everyone gave her their attention.

"I've heard things about Fogbound Lake," she said.

"What did you hear?" Andy asked, becoming interested.

"Well, there's a legendary Pokémon named _Uxie_ who guards the lake. They say that when you lock eyes with him, he'll wipe your memory!"

"WHAT?" Loudred bellowed.

"Uxie will wipe your memory? Golly, that's scary, yup, yup," Bidoof said.

"Oh my gosh! We'd better not meet him and get our memories erased! Eek!" Sunflora covered her mouth with her leafy arms.

Chatot shook his head. "If I may put a word in, all of you. Stories like that are usually made up about these places. I wouldn't take these too seriously. Now move along and get exploring." He gestured at the wall of fog, ominously waiting for them in the forest.

The group disbanded from the meeting. Andy started towards the forest.

_I know this place somehow,_ Steve thought. _The guardian that lives here, Uxie… can erase memories?_

_Did I come here for some reason and Uxie wiped my memories?_

"Steve!" Andy called him. "You daydreaming again? C'mon, let's get going already!"

_I woke up without remembering anything except my name and the fact I was human… Maybe Uxie will know something about me turning into a Pokémon._

"Hey, cool!"

Steve looked up. Andy had found some kind of red rock on the ground. Steve ran towards him to see.

"It's some sort of gem…" Steve eyed the rock with curiosity.

"Whoa, it's all warm and stuff!" Andy fiddled with the gem in his paws. "I think I'll hold on to this." He dropped the red rock into their bag. "Alright, let's go."

Steve nodded, following Andy into the forest.

Foggy Forest was filled with Normal‑type Pokémon, and Steve took them down easily. Fog was a problem though, as many Pokémon were hidden and suddenly attacked. The fog also somewhat hindered Andy's electric attacks, as they weren't dealing as much damage as before.

"Ugh, my electric attacks are weaker in this fog," Andy complained, tackling a Noctowl.

"Don't let it bother you," Steve said, Force Palming a Zigzagoon. "Use your physical attacks."

"Okay."

Sometime later, they came to a stop in a clearing. The sound of waterfalls echoed around them.

"You think we're any closer to finding Fogbound Lake?" Andy asked.

Steve glanced around the area, seeing nothing but grass, trees, fog, and more fog. "We really need to lift this fog somehow."

"Yeah," Andy agreed. "It'll be impossible to find the lake with all this fog."

"Hey, hey! Team Galaxy!" cried a familiar voice.

"Isn't that...?" Steve turned towards the sound of the voice.

Turned out it was Corphish, and he walked to them.

"Did you find anything?" Andy asked, relieved to finally see another guild member.

"I did find something interesting," Corphish replied. "Follow me."

He led them over to a statue. The statue looked deteriorated from time and erosion and it was standing a bit slanted to the side. It depicted a massive Pokémon covered in scales and a wide body that was low to the ground even though it stood on two legs. The Pokémon statue looked almost like a dinosaur.

"Strange, isn't it?" Corphish said as they examined the statue. "Wonder why this statue's here, hey, hey."

"There's something engraved here." Andy pointed to the pedestal. "These look like footprint runes."

Steve looked closer and noticed that the engravings were indeed, footprints.

"I can read this," Andy said.

"You can?" Steve glanced at him in slight surprise.

"Yep. Just give me a moment." Andy studied the markings, mumbling to himself. Finally, he stood up and said:

"_Reignite the fire that burned within Groudon's heart. Do this and the path to the Treasure shall be revealed."_

All three apprentices exchanged glances.

"Okay, so, 'the path to the Treasure' part... does that have to do with the lake?" Steve pondered.

"Hey, hey, that sounds right, but what about the 'reignite the fire' bit?" Corphish said. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Steve raised a paw to his chin, thinking.

"Hey, Steve, why don't you touch the statue?" Andy said.

Steve stared at him blankly.

"Maybe you'll get a vision," Andy reminded.

"Oh yeah." The Riolu nodded and walked up to the statue. He placed a paw on it, bracing himself for the dizzy feeling.

A wave of dizziness came, right on cue.

_Here goes nothing… _Steve thought.

A flash and everything went dark. An echoing voice spoke, sounding far away to his ears.

"_It's here! It's here! I found it!_"

Another flash and Steve steadied himself using the statue.

"_...I see. Put the Drought Stone in the statue and that lifts the fog! Great! Good job, partner!_"

Steve was returned to the light and shook his head, dizzy from the two visions.

_Those voices… one of them sounded familiar, but I'm not sure. I need to figure it out…_

"You see anything?" Andy asked.

_Put the Drought Stone in the statue. Hmm. This is Groudon, then. Where do I put it?_

Steve glanced up at the chest, where there was an indentation to put something in.

_I need that Drought Stone, but where do I get one? Ah, maybe…_

"Andy, you still have that rock you picked up earlier, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"There's an indentation there on its chest." Steve pointed at it. "Try putting it in there."

Andy walked up to the statue, seeing the indentation. "Okay, I'll try it." He took out the stone from their bag and climbed onto the pedestal. He stuck the stone into the indentation, and hopped down.

"Did that do anything?" he asked, until the statue's eyes lit up, glowing red. The ground shook.

"Uh oh, we oughta back up…" Steve warned.

Quickly, they backed up, just as the entire statue glowed with light.

The fog vanished completely, leaving the three apprentices standing in the bright sunlight.

"The sun's really bright..." Steve raised a paw to his eyes.

"Steve! Corphish! Look up! Up!" Andy shouted.

Gazing upwards, they gasped, their jaws hanging open.

Up high, towering over the Pokémon, was a gigantic, goblet‑shaped rock formation. Waterfalls flowed down from the edges to where the explorers stood.

Fogbound Lake.

"Hey, hey, is that the lake?" Corphish said uncertainly. "All the way up there?"

"No wonder we couldn't find it," Steve said, somewhat amused.

"Hey, hey! Someone oughta tell Chatot and the Guildmaster! I'll go! You two check that out!" Corphish took off in excitement.

"Come on, Andy," Steve said. "Let's-"

"Chaw‑haw‑haw! You're not goin' anywhere!"

Team Skull charged in and blocked Team Galaxy's path.

"We overheard," Skuntank said with a chuckle. "We can't let you find the treasure first!"

Andy scowled. "So you selfish jerks just came along to hog it all to yourselves?"

"Whoa‑ho‑ho!" Koffing laughed. "You expected any less of us?"

"Well, I'm not gonna stand here and let you make off with the discoveries the guild made!" Steve shook a paw at them.

"Y-yeah! We'll take you on right now!" Andy crossed his arms, trying to look tough.

Skuntank and Koffing went forward, while Zubat backed up.

"Oh, really, that'll work, right?" Skuntank laughed. "The last time you wimps took us on, you didn't even last a second."

Andy swallowed, and backed up a step.

"Enough talk! Take this! Me and Koffing's NOXIOUS-"

"WAIT! WAIT FOR ME! PERFECT APPLE!"

All four Pokémon stopped at the loud voice. A large apple rolled in, coming to a halt between the two teams.

"What? What's this?" Skuntank gaped at the fruit on the ground.

Wigglytuff came rushing in from where the apple came from and pounced on it. "Got you, my Perfect Apple!" Then he looked up and saw Steve and Andy. "Oh, it's you two!" He turned around and spotted Team Skull. "Them, too!"

"Guildmaster?" W-what are you doing here?" Skuntank stammered.

"Who? Me?" Wigglytuff pointed at himself. "My Perfect Apple ran away and I was like, come back here, and now, here I am!" he said, as if it should have been obvious.

Wigglytuff turned to Steve and Andy. "You two! There's exploring to be done! Right there!" He pointed at the enormous rock formation before them. "Get exploring, friendly friends!"

Andy glanced at the rock formation, then back at the Guildmaster. "But…"

"Don't wanna listen to your Guildmaster? Booo! Booooo!" Wigglytuff wagged his stubby hand. "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!" He gave them a light blue berry. "Now go on, get going!"

Steve chuckled and turned to Andy. "You heard him, let's go."

"Alright…" Andy placed the berry in his bag before following. Wigglytuff waved, yelling his goodbyes.

Steve and Andy searched around the rock formation, eating their apples along the way. After a few minutes, they found a cave leading inside. Moisture was thick in the air due to rocks spewing steam.

"Steam?" Andy murmured. "Wonder if it's gonna be hot in there…"

"Only one way to find out." Steve began to go into the cave. "I think there's gonna be some Fire‑types in here too."

"Makes sense," Andy agreed. "Let's get in there and get it done!"

Steve nodded, and they both went inside.

Steam Cave not only contained Fire‑type Pokémon, but also Bug‑types as well. Yanma, dragonfly‑like bugs were encountered by the team in here, and Slugma, which looked like a blob of living lava.

The Slugma spit fire at Steve.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow!" Steve flailed his arms around in the air. "Hot! Hot! Hot!"

"Steve!" Andy cried, shooting electricity at the slug, causing it to faint. He rummaged through the bag for something. He took out the berry Wigglytuff had given them earlier and handed it to Steve. "Here, this'll help! It's a Rawst Berry."

Steve quickly popped the berry into his mouth, and grimaced at the bitter taste. But he swallowed it, the flames on him slowly dissipating. "Oh, that's much better."

They continued exploring the cave, climbing higher. The two of them swiftly struck down opponents along the way.

At a resting point with a Kangaskhan Statue, the rocks appeared jagged and the steam around the cave thinned out, getting cooler. The team sat down to rest for a moment.

"Isn't the lake up ahead, Steve?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure of it."

_Uxie too. I hope I can get some answers. But I haven't told Andy the feelings I got from being in this place…_

His partner had gotten up, ready to move on. Steve stood up too and decided to tell his partner about his thoughts. "Hey, I-"

A roar in the distance silenced him.

"What was that?" Andy said, his ears perked up.

_I need to tell him now._ "Listen, Andy. I feel like I've been here before."

"You do? You have?" Andy looked at Steve, astonished.

"So I've been thinking, Chimecho mentioned Uxie, and I think maybe he knows something," Steve explained.

Andy was silent for a moment, before he nodded. "Okay then, let's go find the treasure and Uxie!"

Another roar echoed throughout the area, sounding considerably closer this time.

"What's making that noise?" Andy glanced at the path ahead. The roaring sounded like it came from everywhere at once.

"Whatever it is, we're gonna find out." Steve and Andy proceeded up the path.

They traveled through the cave, beating Pokémon and picking up items on the way. Soon, they reached the end, which was outside in open air.

"This looks like the top." Andy glanced around. "We still have to-"

An ear‑splitting roar vibrated through the air.

"W-what was t-that?" Andy looked around in fear.

"I don't know…" Steve said, unnerved.

The ground shook.

_Boom! Boom! Boom!_

"That sounds like footsteps." Steve glanced in the direction the noise was coming from. "Big footsteps…"

Steve and Andy covered their ears as another roar shook the air. Then, a gigantic Pokémon stomped forward, shaking the ground with every step it took. It was as if the statue they had seen earlier had come alive and decided to meet them here.

The Pokémon's thick, broad scales were dark red, and its claws were white and sharp. The giant towered over the explorers, and its eyes were fierce with no mercy.

"G-Groudon!" Andy screamed and hid behind Steve, cowering in fright.

"**An exploration team?" **Groudon's voice shook the ground. "**I am the guardian of Fogbound Lake! You shall not pass!**" He stomped to emphasize the last words. Another tremor was sent through the ground, popping Steve and Andy into the air. Steve managed to land on his feet, while Andy did a face-plant into the ground. Steve helped Andy up, and faced Groudon.

"I-I'm not r-ready for this," Andy said, shutting his eyes tightly.

"I am," Steve said, smacking his paws together, like he did before every battle. "I'm ready to fight this guy. Are you?"

Andy stopped cowering and joined Steve by his side. "O-okay, I've gotta stop being a c-coward."

Steve beamed. "That's the spirit!"

Groudon roared, sound waves rippling through the air.

"Let's go!" Steve charged into battle. He readied a Force Palm, leapt and struck Groudon's head. Andy followed up with a Thunder Shock, zapping the legendary Pokémon.

Groudon roared and lunged with his claws.

"Ah!" Andy dodged to the side as claws dug into the ground. A moment later and he would have been slashed. He dashed on all‑fours and struck the dino with a Quick Attack.

Groudon took the attack head-on with no reaction. He glared at Steve, who struck him with another Force Palm. He swiped his claws at the Riolu, who didn't have time to move out of the way.

Steve screamed, and fell to the ground, facing up.

Andy cried out in concern for his partner and electrocuted Groudon, who didn't even look at the Pikachu. Groudon raised his claws, ready to strike down the Riolu for good. The claws quickly descended, and Steve shut his eyes, anticipating more intense pain.

It never came.

Andy had used his Quick Attack speed to tackle Steve out of the way, landing to the side. Quickly getting up, Steve glanced at this partner in awe.

"Wow… thanks…"

"I just had to do something! Groudon was gonna take you out for good!" Andy turned back to the legendary roaring in annoyance.

"Let's even the odds, shall we?" Steve rummaged through their bag, and pulled out a yellow seed. "Don't know what this does, but let's find out!" He flung the seed towards Groudon's open, roaring mouth, and the enemy swallowed it. The legendary suddenly stumbled around, looking confused.

"That was a Totter Seed!" Andy exclaimed. "It confuses people!"

Steve nodded in response and dashed forward with his own Quick Attack. Quickly reaching the confused Groudon, he smacked his head with a Force Palm. The red giant roared, wildly swinging his claws around. Steve jumped out of the claws' range, landing next to Andy.

"Should we attack at the same time?" Andy asked.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Steve and his partner charged forward with their Quick Attacks, and struck Groudon simultaneously. To their amazement, the legendary collapsed to the ground with a earth‑shaking crash. A huge cloud of dust filled the area. Several tense moments of silence passed as Steve and Andy waited for the dust to subside. When it did, they saw Groudon lying on the ground, defeated.

"We… we did it!" Andy panted for breath. "We beat Groudon!"

"Yes!" Steve cheered.

But then, Groudon glowed with light, and disappeared. There was nothing left at all. It was if Groudon was never there.

"What the…" Andy stared at the spot Groundon had been, dumbfounded.

"_That was not_ _Groudon,_" a voice spoke into the explorers' minds.

Steve and Andy exchanged glances, wondering where the voice was coming from.

"_Like I said before, I am the guardian of Fogbound Lake and I cannot allow you to pass. Now turn_ _back._" The voice sounded weary, but firm.

"Please, whoever you are, we just came for some information!" Andy spoke to the air.

"_Information, you_ _say?_" said the voice with a suspicious tone.

"Um, we'd like to find treasure here after coming all this way," Andy admitted. "But if there's a problem with that, we'll leave without any!" he added quickly.

"_Hmm…_" The unseen speaker considered Andy's words for a moment. "_Alright… I'll trust_ _you…_"

A ball of light formed in front of the exploration team and a small figure appeared. This Pokémon hovered in the air and was primarily teal in color. It had two tails and a yellow dome‑shaped head. Its eyes appeared to be closed.

"I am Uxie," the Pokémon introduced itself with an actual voice. "Follow me, and I'll show you Fogbound Lake." He turned and floated the way Groudon had come from. Steve and Andy followed.

An edge of water greeted them, along with a starry sky overhead.

"Wow, it's already night time." Andy stared up at the night sky.

"Yeah, time goes really fast sometimes," Steve said.

"Behold! Fogbound Lake!" Uxie announced grandly, gesturing at the lake before them.

Steve stared over at the lake in awe. Andy looked away from the stars and gasped.

Several Volbeat, firefly-like Pokémon, were buzzing around, shining in a small light that reflected off the water. The lake itself was quite large, clear and shining with an unusual blue light. The lights and the night sky gave the scene a quality that couldn't be described by words.

"It's so beautiful…" Andy gazed across the lake.

"At the center of the lake," Uxie pointed to it, "do you see that light?"

Steve and his partner gazed down at the lake's center.

"Yeah, I can see that weird light," Andy said.

Steve could see a small, blue object floating just under the surface of the water. He couldn't tear his gaze away at the object.

_Wow, my heart's pounding really fast! I feel like I've ran a mile! What the heck?_

The Riolu's heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest as he stared at the object at the center of the lake.

"What is that?" Andy asked.

"That is a Time Gear," Uxie answered. "It keeps time flowing properly. It is the sole reason I am here and I keep it safe by keeping it secret."

Andy looked curious at Uxie's abilities. "You guard it? How?"

"With a little trick I have." Uxie smiled gently. A brief flash and Groundon suddenly appeared. Andy covered his mouth, suppressing a scream.

"Don't worry," Uxie chuckled. "It is nothing more than an illusion generated by my psychic abilities. It is the same as the one you fought earlier."

The illusion flickered a bit, as Uxie wasn't putting as much effort into this one, unlike before.

"It looked so real," Steve said.

"I scare off many with this illusion," Uxie said. "But some are strong enough to defeat it and I confront them myself. I protect the lake by wiping their memories of it."

Andy stared at Uxie for a few moments when something clicked inside him. "Oh!" Andy remembered why they were there. "We have a question to ask you, Uxie!"

Uxie looked at the explorers, interested in what he had to say.

"This is my friend, Steve," Andy introduced him. "He's a Pokémon now, but he was a human before."

"Really? A human?" Uxie looked intrigued by the news. "Is that true?"

Steve nodded. "I woke up and couldn't remember anything but my name, and that I was a human."

"So we were wondering," Andy said, "if you've seen any humans visit the lake before."

"Ah, I see. I can only wipe memories of Fogbound Lake, and no human has ever visited." Uxie shook his head. "I'm afraid I have nothing to do with your friend's memory loss and I don't know why he was transformed into a Pokémon."

Andy sighed. "Oh well. The only thing here is the lake and the Time Gear…"

"A Time Gear?" a familiar voice called from behind them. "Too bad we can't take a Time Gear!"

Wigglytuff came running and stopped, dancing as merrily as ever.

"And who might this be?" Uxie asked, furrowing his brow.

"This is our Guildmaster," Andy replied. "He's a little... odd, to say the least."

Wigglytuff turned to Uxie. "Hello, friendly friend!" The Guildmaster walked over to the illusion still standing off to the side. "Hello to you, too, amazing friend!"

Steve and Andy burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of Wigglytuff walking up to Groudon and saying hi.

Soon, the rest of the guild, with the exception of Team Skull, came. They immediately jumped back in shock when they saw the Groudon illusion.

"Squawk! It's Groudon!" Chatot flapped his wings in panic.

Wigglytuff came to greet them. "Hi, guys!"

Chatot gaped at the Guildmaster, who was standing right next to a legendary Pokémon.

"Never mind that," Wigglytuff said, regarding the Groudon illusion. "Look at that!" He pointed to the center of the lake. "Pretty!"

A geyser erupted, looking like a tower of water shaped almost like a crown, spraying water in all directions. Colorful lights shined through the giant geyser's water, lighting up the night sky.

Uxie did not protest to the visitors. "Every now and then, water rises up from below and is shot into the air like this. The Time Gear provides the light shining through it. Together with everything else, it is truly a statement of beauty," Uxie said, fondness in his voice.

All the guild members stared at the geyser in amazement.

"I'm just so happy we got to come here," Andy said. "The treasure of Fogbound Lake has to be this amazing scene…"

"I didn't get to find out anything about myself, though," Steve muttered.

_Uxie didn't erase my memory, but I still feel like I've been here before… And why does seeing the Time Gear get me pumped up?_

Some of the guild members started up a conversation about the Time Gear.

"I hope this one doesn't get stolen."

"Yeah, the Time Gear in Treeshroud Forest went missing several days ago."

"Someone actually STOLE a Time Gear?"

"Chatot said no one would touch them!"

_Who would go stealing Time Gears? And why?_ Steve said to himself.

Twenty‑two minutes later, the geyser finally went down. The entire guild gave Uxie their undivided attention.

"I have chosen to trust all of you, and will not take away your memories of this place," Uxie addressed the guild. "However, I must ask that you all keep this place a secret, for the sake of protecting the Time Gear."

Wigglytuff nodded. "You got it! We won't tell anyone! I promise that on the name of Wigglytuff's Guild!"

"Please hold true to that promise…" Uxie said.

"Chatot!" Wigglytuff turned to his right‑hand Pokémon. "If you please…"

Chatot nodded and turned to the apprentices.

"Everyone! We're heading home!"

All of them responded with a loud "HOORAY!"


	9. Visitor

**Chapter 9: Visitor**

"UP and AT 'EM! It's MORNING! Even though we stayed up all night, DOESN'T mean you can SLEEP IN!"

Steve groaned, waking up. It had been awhile since he woke up to Loudred's loud shouting.

Andy yawned. "We have to wake up to Loudred's wake up call again..."

"I guess so." Steve stretched his arms and legs. "I miss those quiet mornings already…"

After the morning briefing, Steve and Andy were about to go pick jobs from the boards when Loudred spoke up louder than usual.

"WHAT? You CAN'T identify them?" he shouted down the hole at Diglett.

"I'm telling you," Diglett's voice echoed back, "I don't know what I don't know!"

Chatot hopped forward. "What's the matter?"

"There's someone at the gate Diglett can't identify," Loudred said. "He's rarely stumped by any footprints."

Then they heard Diglett speaking up. "Oh! You're _the _Dusknoir? Just a minute!"

Chatot and Loudred had surprised looks on their faces upon hearing the name "Dusknoir".

A minute later, the Guildmaster greeted a large Pokemon that was hovering over the ground.

"That guy doesn't even have feet," Steve whispered to Andy.

"I'm honored to visit the famous Wigglytuff's Guild," the visitor said jovially.

The visitor had floated down to the second level of the guild. The guild members whispered among each other, gazing at the Pokemon in awe.

"Hey, isn't that the explorer Dusknoir?" Andy pointed at the visitor.

"He became famous overnight, eek!" Sunflora squealed.

Steve raised an eyebrow. "What's he famous for?"

"Don't you know? He does all his exploring solo," Loudred said.

"And he's very knowledgeable," Sunflora added. "There's almost nothing he doesn't know!"

Steve looked at the Guildmaster and Dusknoir talking.

"Does the Guildmaster know him personally?" Steve asked.

Loudred shook his head. "Nah, this is the first time Dusknoir's been here."

"Then why's he acting like he knows Dusknoir?"

Loudred shrugged. "The Guildmaster's like that; friendly with everyone he meets."

Wigglytuff turned to address the guild members. "Everyone! This is the famous Dusknoir! He's told me he'll be staying in Treasure Town for the next several days. I'm sure everyone wants to ask him something or for autographs, but let's not be discourteous to our guest, okay?"

Steve tried peeking over the crowd, but couldn't really see Dusknoir. He could just barely see a head, which was grey and had a glowing red eye.

"I'm afraid you flatter me," Dusknoir said, abashed. "I'm happy to oblige to autographs. But knowledge? I don't know everything, I'm afraid…"

"He sure sounds a bit humble, if not anything else," Steve commented.

Andy turned to his partner. "Well, we better get going. We can probably talk to Dusknoir later." They passed the crowd, climbed the ladder, and looked at the job boards. They took some requests and set out to fulfill them.

The next day, Chatot had something for them to do.

"You two, before you go to the job boards, I need you to visit the Kecleon Market."

"Why?" Andy asked.

"Because I want you to ask them if they have any plans on stocking Perfect Apples," Chatot said. "It would be quite convenient if we could just-"

"Buy them right?" Andy finished for him.

Chatot nodded. "Precisely."

"We get right to it." Andy gave a salute, and they headed out.

Everyone in Treasure Town heard the guild didn't find anything at the forest during the expedition. Steve felt bad for lying to them, but it was for the best. The Time Gear had to be protected.

Steve and Andy approached the Market, and spotted Dusknoir there. Getting a good look at him this time, Steve saw the Pokemon was floating in the air, being a Ghost‑type. He had a round belly with a strange pattern on it. His head had a single red eye in a mouth‑like opening, and his arms were large and muscular, with just as large hands. For some reason, Steve grew a little nervous looking at Dusknoir.

Andy stepped forward to meet Dusknoir. "Hello."

Dusknoir turned to the two explorers. "Greetings. I don't believe I've met you two."

"I'm Andy, and this is my partner. We both live at the guild. We're Team Galaxy!"

"Team Galaxy, you say?" Dusknoir studied them for a moment.

The green Kecleon noticed he had potential customers and spoke to Steve. "Oh, would you like to look at my wares?"

"Sorry, we just wanted to ask if you're gonna sell Perfect Apples," Steve said.

"...No." The purple Kecleon shook his head. "We currently have no plans on stocking Perfect Apples."

"Oh. Chatot's not gonna be happy to hear that," Steve murmured.

"Hurry up, Azurill!"

Marill and his brother came running by in a hurry.

"What are you guys doing?" Steve asked them.

Marill stumbled to a halt. "Hi, Steve! Someone told us that our lost item is at the beach. We can finally get it back!"

"What's this lost item of yours, anyway?"

"It's a _Water Float_," Marill explained.

Dusknoir looked up. "A Water Float? Why, that is quite the valuable item!"

"We gotta go down to the beach!" Marill ran down the street.

"Wait for me!" Azurill followed his brother.

"A Water Float? What's that?" the green Kecleon asked.

"It is an item specifically designed for Azurill. It is a very rare and valuable item," Dusknoir explained.

"We've never even heard of such a thing before now!" the purple Kecleon spoke up.

Andy remembered why they were there.

"Oh, no! C'mon, Steve! We've got to report to Chatot!"

Team Galaxy returned to the guild and told Chatot the news.

"They're not planning on stocking Perfect Apples?"

Steve shrugged. "Afraid not."

"What am I going to do now?" Chatot mumbled.

"We… could go to Apple Woods-" Andy began.

"Are you mad?!" Chatot flapped his wings. "After what happened last time?"

"Geez, calm down!" Steve said.

"I'm sorry." Chatot covered his face with a wing. "The whole incident with the Guildmaster and the apples was… a bit traumatic for me. I don't want to risk it happening again." Chatot turned away, sighing. "I'll go get the apples myself."

Steve and Andy headed for the job boards.

"Did you really have to bring that up?" Steve crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Sorry…"

Later that evening before they had dinner, Chatot had something to say to the guild.

"As all of you are probably aware, the Time Gear in Treeshroud Forest has been missing, and Officer Magnezone has not been able to find the culprit. Please do not reveal to _anyone_ what we discovered at Fogbound Lake. Do I make myself clear?"

Some of the guild members reacted in outrage as they knew their promise to Uxie.

"Eek! I would never forget our promise to Uxie!" Sunflora squealed.

"I DON'T have a BIG MOUTH!" Loudred banged a fist on the table. Steve raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"We won't tell anyone!" Andy added.

In their room, Team Galaxy settled down for the night.

"Hope Uxie's okay." Steve lay down in his bed.

"I'm sure he is," Andy said.

They both went to sleep.

* * *

"_Rgh… I knew it… I should've taken their memories…" Uxie had been beaten up and was lying on the ground, breathing hard. "Wasn't long after they left… someone stronger came… and is here to take the Time Gear!_"

"_I don't know what you're talking_ _about_,"_ a figure said._ "_No__ one told me about this place._"_ The figure looked at his downed opponent. "I have no personal issues with you, but I must_ _take that Time Gear."_

_The figure dived into the lake and quickly reached the Time Gear in the center. He grabbed it, and time immediately reacted to the action. Across the lake a wave of energy spread, turning the water and land grey, freezing time._

_Uxie had fled the scene when the figure returned to the shore. He felt guilty at having to injure the guardian so badly, but he shook the feeling off. He had done his mission at the lake to get the Time Gear._

"_Only two_ _more…_"_ The figure headed out._

Steve jolted awake.

"Morning already?" Andy muttered, waking up. He looked at Steve. "What's wrong, Steve? Did you have a bad dream or something?"

"Y-yeah…" Steve stammered. In his dream, he saw Uxie being attacked by someone. The details were fading away fast.

Loudred came, slightly surprised they were already up. He left without a word.

All the details of the dream forgotten, Steve stood up. "C'mon, let's go."

As they were heading up the ladder, Loudred called them over.

"You've got a couple of visitors," he said.

Steve and Andy exchanged glances.

"Wonder who wants us?" Andy and his partner headed up to the entrance.

Marill and Azurill eagerly awaited.

"Hey, are you our visitors?" Andy asked them. "What do you need from us?"

"Hi, Andy." Marill shuffled nervously. "We need your help with something."

"We need help with finding our Water Float," Azurill said.

"Wasn't that the item you went looking for at the beach yesterday?" Steve asked.

"Yes, we went there, but we didn't find it. But, we did find this." Marill pulled out a slip of paper that had messy writing scrawled on it.

Steve took the paper from Marill and read it aloud.

"_You want it? Come to Amp Plains and get it! Chaw‑haw‑haw!_"

Steve looked up at his partner. "Who else do you know laughs like that?"

"No one…" Andy already had an idea as to whom had written this note.

"There's no way I'm taking Azurill to Amp Plains." Tears were pooling up in Marill's eyes.

"We'll get your item for you," Steve announced without hesitation.

"Really?" Marill sniffed, holding back tears.

"Really, really!" Andy patted Marill's head. "No more tears! Not until we return your Water Float!"


	10. Stolen

**Chapter 10: Stolen**

Far to the north was Amp Plains. There was cracked, dry ground, and little grass grew. Thunderclouds rolled overhead, darkening the sky.

Andy was an Electric‑type, so he felt right at home in this environment in the thick amount of electricity in the air. Steve, on the other hand, was slightly uncomfortable.

Steve quivered. "Oooh, let's just get this over with."

The two explorers went in.

The place was swarming with Electric‑type Pokémon. A sheep called Mareep was common in this area. They had a heavy coat of electric wool on its body. Andy tackled them head on. Moving on, they met more Pokémon, including Shinx, a small Pokémon that looked like a cat. They were black and blue in color and had a slender tail with a yellow tuft of hair at the end.

Further in the plains, they came across Girafarig, which were Psychic‑types. Andy handled most of the enemies in this dungeon, while Steve stayed back, occasionally striking from behind with his Quick Attack. Luxio, Shinx's evolved counterparts, appeared, and also Flaffy, which were evolved forms of Mareep. They were much harder to take down and Steve and Andy had to use a few Oran Berries to heal themselves.

Not only the wild Pokémon were annoyances to the team, but also traps. One trap spun Steve around, making him disoriented. After stumbling around a bit, he saw that Andy was gone. The Pikachu had apparently stepped on a warp trap, warping him to another location in the dungeon. Eventually meeting up with each other, they continued on.

Several hours had passed in Amp Plains, and they finally reached a clearing. Having a place to rest, Steve and Andy sat down to have an apple each. Clouds were unleashing lightning followed by thunder up ahead.

"We've searched most of the plains, so…" Andy looked up at the clouds.

"We keep moving." Steve stood up. "Let's go."

They headed into the Deep Plains.

"Why aren't my electrical attacks doing anything?" Andy asked, exasperated.

"I think those Electrike are drawing your electricity to them," Steve said, smacking one down. The Electrike were green in color, stood on all fours, and had an elongated head. Andy had to resort to physical attacks to get by.

"These Electrike are so annoying!" Andy complained.

"That's why I'm here." Steve knocked out another one.

"Thanks."

Half an hour passed, and they arrived at another clearing. Lightning struck the ground near them and the booming thunder pounded their ears.

"Whoa!" Andy cried. "That lightning is hitting this place hard!"

"Oh, so you've noticed," Steve said sarcastically and looked around. "Let's just find that Water Float and get the heck out of here."

"There!" Andy pointed to something shining on the ground up ahead. "What's that?"

Steve squinted, trying to make out the object. "I don't know. Could that be the Water Float?" Aside from the unknown object, the only other thing of interest in the clearing was a small boulder.

"Halt! Who goes there?" someone suddenly yelled.

Steve quickly glanced around, then pulled Andy behind the boulder, taking cover behind it.

"You can't hide!" the voice shouted. "I can see you wherever you may hide… then I'll _strike_!"

Steve jumped out of cover, Andy following a moment later.

"Where are you?" the Riolu shouted out to the clearing. "Show yourself!"

There was a flash of lightning, and everything went black. Then six Electrike surrounded the team in a circle.

Another Pokémon called Manectric, the evolved form of Electrike, stood outside the circle. It was primarily blue in color. Yellow fur formed some sort of helmet on its head. "I am Manectric! These are our lands! Now you must fight!"

Steve and Andy didn't even have time to speak as the Electrike closed in all at once. Steve spun with his foot outstretched in a roundhouse kick, knocking all of them back. Andy followed up with Quick Attack to one of them.

Manectric attempted to attack, but Steve threw a Totter Seed at him. Manetric stumbled away, dazed.

Steve smirked. "That's one of my favorite things to do. Throw a Totter Seed at a boss, then take out his minions. Hehe…"

"I like your thinking!" Andy tackled another Electrike.

By then most of the Electrike were down. Manectric snapped out of his confusion. "This is not over!" He lashed out at Andy, knocking him back.

"Hey!" Steve leapt and Force Palmed Manectric.

The Electric-type staggered back, furious. "You dare attack me?! Attack my tribe?!" Manectric began to channel electricity, readying a powerful attack.

"Please! We didn't want to fight!" Andy pleaded, jumping forward. Their foe didn't seem to listen. The six Electrike were now waking up.

"Enough! Take this!" Manectric charged an attack in his mouth.

"STOP!"

A loud, booming voice roared. The the sound of electricity ceased.

Dusknoir hovered in front of Team Galaxy with his arms spread wide, shielding the Riolu and Pikachu.

"Stop this instant!" Dusknoir shouted. Manectric and the six Electrike stepped back.

"Who are you?" Manectric said with a growl, still in a fighting stance.

"I am Dusknoir, an explorer." He lowered his hands, but remained ready to defend the explorers. "On behalf of these two, I offer the _sincerest_ apologies. We are merely here on an errand and will leave as soon as we have found what we're looking for. Please believe me, Manectric!"

Manectric glared at Dusknoir, considering his words. He finally straightened up slightly. "Very well. I shall give you a few minutes. I expect you all to be gone by the time we return." He commanded his tribe to follow him and left.

Andy sighed in relief. "Whew, that was close."

"Thanks, Dusknoir, sir," Steve said. "Who were they?"

Dusknoir turned to them, his arms relaxed at his sides. "That was Manectric and the Electrike tribe. "They are a nomadic group that are always traveling in search of lands to sustain them. Amp Plains is lashed by severe thunderstorms this time of the year."

He gestured up at the clouds overhead to support his point.

"They tend to dwell here at this time. However, I understand they were attacked here without warning once and suffered severe injuries. So they made a rule to attack first to avoid being taken by surprise.

"Marill and Azurill told me what you were doing. I fear what might have happened had I arrived a moment later…"

"Naw, you saved us, Dusknoir." Steve waved a paw dismissively. "Thanks a lot!"

"Yes…" Dusknoir nodded. "Now then, let's find that Water Float and leave, shall we?"

"I think that shining thing on the ground is it." Andy pointed at the item they had seen before Manectric attacked.

They went over to it. Andy glanced at Dusknoir for confirmation about the item on the ground.

"That is most certainly a Water Float," Dusknoir confirmed.

"Why's it out here, anyways?" Steve asked, scratching his head.

"I imagine it was placed here deliberately… the culprits knew about Manectric and his tribe's actions and put it here, hoping to trigger a fight between the two of you." Dusknoir glared off to one side. "Isn't that correct, you cowardly scum?"

Andy let out a soft gasp as Team Skull came out from hiding. Steve growled, his paws balling into fists.

Skuntank laughed. "Guess you got us. Yeah, we put that there," he said without any hint of guilt.

"We were hoping Manectric and his gang would beat you up," Koffing said.

"Then we'd clean up afterwards," Zubat added.

Dusknoir hovered forward. "Shall we settle this here?" he said in a, menacing tone.

"Oh, yeah, if it was just Team Galaxy, we'd whump them good." Skuntank shook his head and turned away. "But against the famous Dusknoir? No way. Let's skidaddle, boys!"

Team Skull ran.

"That's right, run away, you idiots!" Steve shook a fist at their retreating figures.

"What a bunch of cowards!" Andy stomped a foot.

Dusknoir spoke up, "Our efforts here would be wasted if we chased after them, so let's collect the Water Float and leave."

"Okay." Steve picked up the lost item, and dropped it in their bag.

The three of them returned to Treasure Town. They found the two brothers at the Kecleon Market.

Needless to say, Marill and Azurill were overjoyed to get back their lost item after so long.

"First you rescued Azurill, and now this…" Marill shed tears of joy.

"No problem." Steve glanced at Dusknoir. "If it wasn't for Dusknoir, though, we probably wouldn't have made it."

Both brothers thanked Dusknoir as well.

Green Kecleon spoke up. "I believe Team Galaxy has reason to be just as proud of themselves. They acted so quickly and efficiently to Azurill when he was in trouble." Purple Kecleon nodded in agreement.

"About that..." Andy gestured to Steve. "The reason we acted so fast was because of a vision my partner had."

Dusknoir blinked and stared at them. "Pardon? By vision, what do you mean?"

"Well, whenever I touch something, I get really dizzy, then I get visions," Steve explained.

"Why, that's the Dimensional Scream!" Dusknoir was clearly astonished.

Andy turned to Steve. "Maybe we should ask him about you since he knows so much," Andy whispered to him.

With a confused expression, Dusknoir stared at the Riolu. Considering he had only just found out about Steve's strange ability, it wasn't surprising.

"Dusknoir, sir?" Andy said. "We need to ask you something." He turned and led his companions to the place of Steve's awakening.

The three of them were down at the beach a few minutes later. Dusknoir was investigating the sand.

"So, you found your friend passed out here? Without any memory?"

"Uh huh." Andy nodded. "He had lost his memory except for his name and the fact that he was human."

"P-pardon me? H-human?" Dusknoir stammered. He glanced at Steve, evidently trying to see the Riolu as a human and turned back to Andy.

"But he appears to be an absolutely normal Riolu!"

"I think this is a bit beyond even Dusknoir's understanding…" Steve murmured.

Dusknoir calmed down and raised a hand up to his eye in a thoughtful look.

"You said you remembered your name?" he asked the Riolu.

"Yeah."

"And that is?"

"Steve," he answered, not really knowing how his name would help.

Dusknoir blinked once with a perfectly neutral expression and looked away with crossed arms, thinking.

"So… does that name mean anything to you?" Andy asked.

Dusknoir remained silent for a moment before responding. "No. It means nothing to me, unfortunately."

Steve swore he could see the tiniest trace of a smile on Dusknoir's face, but it faded quickly.

"Oh." Andy drooped with disappointment.

"However, I do know about his ability," Dusknoir said. "It is known as the Dimensional Scream. It's a very rare, perhaps even unique ability that I've only heard of up until now. I'm afraid that's all I know."

Steve and Andy nodded, understanding, although disappointed the information wasn't all that useful.

Dusknoir cordially bowed to the duo. "Of course, if you need any help, you have my full support! I'm most interested in studying this ability of yours. To be honest, I can't stand knowing that there's something I don't know. That is the truth!" He then laughed in the hearty, jolly manner he always did.

Several shadows passed over them, and they looked up. In the sky were several Pelipper circling about. The sea birds were the local postal delivery Pokémon.

"Why are there so many of them up there?" Andy asked.

Bidoof came running up, huffing and out of breath. "There ya'll are… been lookin' all over for ya!"

"What's going on, Bidoof?" Steve asked.

"We got a problem! There's an emergency afoot and we're all needed back at the guild! I'm just here to get ya!"

The four of them rushed back to the guild.

Everyone in the guild was crowded around the outlaw board when Bidoof, Dusknoir, and Team Galaxy got back.

"What happened?" Andy spoke up over the noise of the guild.

Steve passed through the crowd and saw Chatot with a pained expression. Wigglytuff also looked miserable.

"Another Time Gear's been stolen!" Chimecho yelled.

Andy's ears drooped when he heard that. "Which one?"

"It… it..." Chatot attempted to speak but shook his head, unable to force the words out.

"It was the one at Fogbound Lake!" Chimecho announced.

"What?!" Andy frantically glanced around at the others. "How?!"

"Wait a moment," Dusknoir said, confused. "I thought the guild's expedition to Fogbound Lake ended up fruitless. I did not know there was a Time Gear there…"

"We had to promise Uxie not to tell anyone," Wigglytuff admitted, sniffling.

"We promised!" Sunflora covered her face in shame. "But now, I don't feel like we could face him after this…"

Chatot looked up from his aggrieved state. "Officer Magnezone has already taken Uxie into protective custody and has received a description of the thief."

"What kinda thief are we dealing with here?" Bidoof asked.

"See for yourselves on the outlaw board." Chatot gestured at the board.

Steve and Andy stepped up to the outlaw board and studied the profile at the center. It depicted a Grovyle's face.

_So that's the thief… Why does he look familiar?_

"We didn't tell, but this thief still found the lake and stole the Time Gear… we all failed Uxie…" Andy hung his head.

Then the ground shook and everyone looked at the Guildmaster. Wigglytuff seemed to explode as the shaking stopped.

"YOOM‑TAH!" He jumped into the air. Chatot and Loudred, who were closest, jumped back in surprise.

Wigglytuff glared at his guild members.

"Alright!" he shouted, his arms up, his expression of fierce anger. "We're going after that Grovyle! We won't let him steal another Time Gear!"

"YEAH!" the entire guild cried.

"I believe I understand the situation," Dusknoir said. "I shall assist with the capture of this Grovyle."

The apprentices murmured among themselves, encouraged by having a strong explorer present to help.

"Everyone shall go to town to prepare," Chatot said. "The Guildmaster, Dusknoir, and myself will plan out our search methods. When everyone has returned, we will explain our plan of attack. Dismissed!"

Steve and Andy checked their items in their storage and their bag, also purchasing more items at the Kecleon Market. Lastly, they dropped some of their money at Duskull Bank.

Finished preparing, they returned to the guild.

"First of all, we know that wherever there is a Time Gear, Grovyle is going to be there at some point," Chatot explained. "Therefore, our plan is to find the remaining Time Gears and proceed to protect them."

He glanced at Wigglytuff and Dusknoir. "The three of us have picked a few different locations that we think may be hiding one. I will separate each of you into search parties, and you will explore the areas. If you find a Time Gear, protect it at all costs."

Tension filled the room, the apprentices awaiting their organization into groups.

"First, Corphish and Loudred, you will be exploring the Eastern Forest. I trust you can figure out where that is," Chatot told them.

"OKAY!"

"Hey, hey, we'll get there."

"Next is Sunflora, Bidoof, and Dugtrio, you three will be searching Crystal Cave to the northeast, east of Amp Plains."

"All righty!" Bidoof nodded and his two partners nodded in agreement.

"And last, but not least, is Steve and Andy," Chatot finished. "You will be searching the Northern Desert. Open your wonder map."

They opened their map and Chatot pointed to an area to the north that was obscured by clouds. Steve had noticed the unexplored areas of the map were hidden. Fogbound Lake had been hidden but was now perfectly visible on the map since the expedition.

"The dry land begins here, so the desert is beyond this point. Travel carefully and pack accordingly," Chatot warned.

"What about us?" Diglett asked. He, Chimecho, and others weren't mentioned yet.

"The rest of you will be staying here at the guild," Chatot said. "We cannot leave it completely abandoned, now."

"Besides, we've got jobs here at the guild that are equally as important," Chimecho added.

"That's the plan! Guildmaster, if you will, dismiss the guild." Chatot turned to Wigglytuff. The Guildmaster stood there, his eyes wide open and staring ahead.

"Guildmaster?" Chatot looked at his leader closely. The Guildmaster had been dozing off the entire time… with his eyes open. Chatot squawked and flapped his wings, trying to get his attention.

Wigglytuff blinked and realized Chatot was flapping in his face. He exploded vocally again, knocking a surprised Chatot to the floor.

"Right, everyone! We're going to catch Grovyle!" Wigglytuff roared and everyone cheered in response, then marched out, the guild members who weren't chosen staying behind.

Chatot just lay on the floor, his mouth agape in shock.

Steve and Andy were about to leave for the desert when Dusknoir stopped them.

"Be careful in the desert, you two. That desert has frequent sandstorms. Good luck." He then left them to their task.


	11. Desert

**Chapter 11: Desert**

Team Galaxy arrived at the Northern Desert.

"Alright, let's search for a Time Gear," Andy said.

"Let's do it." Steve nodded and they proceeded forward.

Sand was everywhere on the ground, being a desert. The air was hot and dry, and the sun was blazing hot overhead.

Cubone, a small, skull‑wearing Pokémon, were encountered in this dungeon. Wielding clubs, they attacked the explorers. They also absorbed electricity like an Electrike, so Andy had to resort to physical moves.

Sandstorms were a common occurrence. Steve and Andy would get hurt by the all the sand flying around and it was difficult to see. They had to close their eyes most of the time.

Residents of the desert, being adapted to this environment, weren't bothered by the sand. Sandshrew, a yellow shrew-like Pokémon, frequently surprised the explorers by hiding in the storms, then jumping out.

They were grateful when they got out of another sandstorm, and the sun was going down. The place cooled a bit and sandstorms didn't show up as much.

Steve rummaged through the bag for an apple, and took one out. "Thank goodness our stuff is still in good condition." He proceeded to eat the apple. Andy pulled out one and did the same. They continued further under the setting sun.

Ground and steel‑types kept pestering the explorers, and Steve knocked out every single one. After several fights, he was getting exhausted. The sandstorms and the heat of the sun weren't helping matters much.

"Let me take care of them for now." Andy took the lead. "You must be really tired."

"Alright…" Steve panted. "I really need to catch my breath…"

Later, the two explorers arrived at a clearing. Nothing but rock cliffs and more sand ahead. Steve was about to walk forward when Andy held out an arm.

"Hey, watch it! That's quicksand!"

Steve glanced back at the sand and sure enough, there was swirling quicksand, waiting for the careless to step into them.

_This… all looks familiar to me somehow… Wait, it's just like at Foggy Forest! I've never been here, but I swear I know this place!_

"Hello? Anybody in there?" Andy lightly tapped Steve's head, causing the Riolu to lose his train of thought. "Daydreaming again? There's nothing here, so let's get back to the guild." They turned around and headed home.

It was late when Steve and Andy returned to the guild. Everyone else was already back.

"What?" Andy was disappointed to hear the others had no luck. "No one else found anything?"

"We searched Eastern Forest, and there was nothing but trees there, hey, hey," Corphish said.

"Looked around Crystal Cave," Bidoof said. "Mighty pretty cave, I tell ya, but no sign of a Time Gear there. I did get this crystal though. He fiddled with his prize in his paws.

"I didn't even notice you pick that up!" Sunflora said in surprise.

"We turned up nothing there, and yet you have the nerve to go collecting souvenirs?" Dugtrio yelled. "Who do you think you are?"

Dusknoir looked dejected, Chatot sharing the same expression.

"Hmm… I thought those locations would hold promise, but it appears I was mistaken. This is my fault…" Dusknoir shook his head, ashamed of himself.

"Please, you're not to blame," Chatot said. "Why, we wouldn't have thought of those locations without your help!"

"Yet we have failed to turn up anything," Dusknoir replied, looking frustrated.

Chatot sighed. "Very well, we will call it a night for today and continue our efforts tomorrow."

After a quick dinner, the guild headed to bed.

The next morning, Chatot announced their new plans on how to proceed.

"Dusknoir and I are discussing further ideas for places to investigate. All of you will continue with personal investigations for today. That is all!"

As everyone headed out, Chatot and Dusknoir discussed their plans.

"So, where are we gonna check, Steve?" Andy said, turning to his partner. Steve rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

_That place felt familiar to me, just like Foggy Forest. Maybe there's more to that quicksand area than meets the eye._

"You in there?" Andy waved a paw in Steve's face. "What's with you lately?"

"Sorry," Steve said. "I'm just thinking about that quicksand area we went to yesterday."

"What about it?"

"That place felt familiar to me like at Foggy Forest, which is why I think there might be something more there."

Andy nodded. "Okay, let's go back to the desert, then."

After packing their things, they headed back to the desert.

Team Galaxy took a shortcut through the Northern Desert to get to the quicksand zone.

"We're back here." Andy glanced around. "Nothing."

"There's nothing here…" After staring at the quicksand for a several moments, an idea began to form in Steve's head. "Andy, I think there's something under the quicksand. We gotta jump into the quicksand."

"For real? _Jump into the quicksand?_" Andy gaped at his partner, flabbergasted by such a suggestion. "That's sounds totally _insane_!" His arms flew up into the air.

"About as insane as jumping into a waterfall." Steve smirked. "We could've smacked into a rock wall or something…"

Andy was speechless. He blinked and glanced back towards the quicksand.

"Alright," he said firmly. "I gonna trust you on this, again. Let's jump into the quicksand."

"My visions and I have gotten us this far," Steve said. "We can't give up."

Andy nodded and they faced the quicksand, ready to dive in.

"On three, ready?" Andy said and Steve nodded. "One… two…"

"Three!" Steve leapt into the quicksand. "WOOOO!" he yelled before he disappeared under the sand.

Andy jumped in after him. "This is totally CRAZY!" he screamed before his head went under.

Steve sunk for a long time, the sound of the flowing sand all around him. Then, he got loose from the sand and fell several feet below.

"Oof!" Steve fell to solid ground. He felt warm, dry air.

Andy soon arrived and landed on the Riolu's back.

"Ow! Get off me!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Andy quickly hopped off, and Steve stood up.

They were in a cavern. A rock ceiling was above their heads, leaking small amounts of sand pouring into the room. Steve couldn't believe it. There actually was something down here.

"You were right, Steve!" Andy jumped in delight. "Under the quicksand is a cave! C'mon!"

Steve nodded, his heart pounding. Determined to unearth its mysteries, they charged into the cave.

Quicksand Cave had many more Pokémon, as some preferred the cooler underground than being up in the blazing sun.

Sandslash were yellow and brown hedgehog‑like Pokémon with sharp tunneling claws. They often blended in with the sand often filling up the air, making them hard to hit.

Pupitar, rock Pokémon in a cocoon shape, were sleeping, so the team didn't have to bother with them.

Both of them were relieved when they reached a waypoint. These rooms never had any enemies. They took a while to rest.

"How deep does this cave go?" Steve munched on an apple.

"I think there's still a little more to go," Andy replied, eating his own apple.

"We'd better hurry." Steve stood up. "Grovyle could've already been here. But if not…"

"Then let's go find that Time Gear!" Andy said and they continued down.

Deeper in the cave was when things got cooler, being far away from the surface. Hippo‑like Pokémon called Hippopotas that seemed to be made of sand, swept up sandstorms in the corridors of the cavern. Sandslash were still encountered frequently, and the sandstorms made it worse fighting them.

"Whew." Steve wiped his forehead, after having a close call with a Sandslash.

Then the king of Quicksand Cave appeared: Tyranitar.

They were large, rocky dinosaur‑like Pokémon that had come from the Pupitar the team had seen earlier. They weren't happy to see Team Galaxy trespassing in their home.

Steve dodged an attack from a Tyranitar, then used Force Palm. It was super‑effective on them!

"Nice," Andy commented as it fainted.

Steve cracked his knuckles. "Too easy."

Another Tyranitar came, and Steve used the same strategy as last time to deal with it. Only this time, the Tyranitar managed to land a hit on the Riolu, knocking him down. Before it could stomp on him, Andy Quick Attacked it, and it fell.

"Ow," Steve groaned, standing up. "Thanks."

"You said they were easy," Andy pointed out.

"Meh, they still are."

Finally reaching the bottom, Steve and Andy stared in wonder at the sight greeting them. A wide, pristine lake was sitting underground in tranquility. It wasn't Fogbound Lake, but it was certainly a stark contrast to the rest of the cave. A blue light shined from the center of the lake.

"Is that the Time Gear?" Andy glanced at his partner.

"I guess so."

"Let's get a closer look-"

"_What? Who's_ _there_?"a female voice yelled in their heads.

"Huh?" Andy said, as both explorers looked around for the source.

"_Who are you, and what are you doing_ _here_?"

"We're Team Galaxy, and we're here looking for a Time Gear," Steve explained to the air.

"_Go_ _back_!"

"But-" Andy started, as a Pokémon burst from the lake with a big splash.

"I am Mesprit! I _won't _allow you to steal the Time Gear!" she yelled and attacked.

Mesprit was teal, with two tails, just like Uxie. But Mesprit had a pink head that wasn't dome‑shaped and her fierce, golden eyes were wide open. She looked like she was wearing some kind of headdress because of several tendrils trailing her head.

"You're the guardian of the-" Steve jumped out of the way of Mesprit's attack. She turned to look at Steve and blasted him with a psychic attack. He screamed, falling to the ground from the sudden pain.

Andy cried out, unleashing his lightning. It struck Mesprit, and she yelped. Steve had gotten up and was readying a Force Palm.

"Hold on!" Andy shouted, but Steve slammed Mesprit with his paw, and she recoiled, before sending another psychic attack his way. It hit, and Steve clutched his head tightly, still standing. Andy tackled the guardian to the ground before she could harm the Steve further.

"_Will you just wait a minute_?" Andy said desperately. "We're not here to steal the Time Gear!"

"Agh!" Mesprit shook the Pikachu off. "Lies!" she shouted, already worn out by the fight. "I know what happened at Fogbound Lake! Uxie told me through telepathy!"

"Uxie told you… through telepathy?" Andy was surprised by the news. Fogbound Lake had to be incredibly far away and they were underground here. Evidently, they could communicate telepathically even at long distances.

"He told me that the Time Gear from Fogbound Lake had been stolen! It was you two, wasn't it?" Mesprit said, accusing.

"It wasn't us!" Steve shouted immediately.

"Then who is the one responsible?" Mesprit said, breathing hard. Someone behind the explorers answered.

"That would probably be… me."

Steve and Andy whirled around to face the speaker.

It was Grovyle.

The Grass‑type was rather imposing in person, and they stepped back. Mesprit hovered forward.

"It was you?" she asked, looking for confirmation.

"Yes," Grovyle said calmly. "I have no quarrel with any of you, so if you'll be so kind to move out of the way-"

"No!" Mesprit got ready to fight, even though she was exhausted from the earlier battle.

Grovyle sighed. "Very well." He suddenly lashed out with one hand and smacked Mesprit aside, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"You've already lost a fight. Don't push it." Grovyle stepped towards the lake, but Steve and Andy blocked his path.

"You're not getting past us!" Andy said.

"Alright… sorry about this…" Grovyle lashed out at the two of them and sent Andy sprawling to the ground by the blindingly‑fast attack. Steve managed to grab Grovyle's fist, however, and elbowed the thief in the face. Grovyle hopped back in surprise.

Deciding he should get this over with, Grovyle struck the Riolu again, who was unprepared this time. Steve collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Hmph." Grovyle wasted no time in running to the edge and diving into the lake.

"Sorry I accused the two of you," Mesprit said to the two explorers, her tone sincere. "He must be the thief who stole the Time Gear from Uxie."

An earthquake started as the three Pokémon managed to get up.

"Oh, no…" Mesprit's eyes darted around in fear.

"What's happening?" Andy shouted over the rumbling.

Then a wave of energy swept over the walls of the cave, turning everything a dull grey color.

"That thief's taken the Time Gear!" Mesprit yelled. "Time's freezing rapidly here! We'll be trapped in time! Move!"

All of them fled quickly before the wave of energy could consume them.

Team Galaxy escorted Mesprit back to the guild, and Officer Magnezone took her into protective custody. Steve and Andy explained how they had found the Time Gear and how it had been stolen. Everyone at the guild listened to their story. Chatot hopped forward after they were done.

"A lake under the desert?" Chatot said, mystified. "That's simply amazing!"

Andy groaned. "Yeah, but we couldn't protect the Time Gear…"

"But it's amazing that you found a Time Gear there, out of all places!" Sunflora said, impressed.

"Hey, hey, a shame we're back to square one…"

"We have no idea where Grovyle will strike next…" Dugtrio murmured.

Dusknoir, who was present, hovered forward. "Maybe not. We know the location of where two Time Gears were stolen. They were at lakes in both cases, and they were in highly unusual places."

"Mesprit also told us that Uxie told her through telepathy of what happened at Fogbound Lake." Steve remembered what she had told them.

Everyone, astonished at this news, murmured among themselves.

Dusknoir nodded. "It is said that Uxie and Mesprit represent knowledge and emotion, respectively. There are three Pokémon that represent the spiritual world. I believe the third one's name is Azelf. I believe he will be guarding the final gear, and it too, will be at a lake."

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora hopped up and down excitedly. "That lake will be somewhere strange too, right? So maybe there's a lake hidden in one of the places we explored already, like Crystal Cave or the Eastern Forest!"

"Ah…" Dusknoir smiled. "That gives me an idea. Bidoof."

Bidoof, slightly startled by being called on by Dusknoir, responded.

"Yup, yup, what'cha want with me?" he asked.

"That crystal you picked up at Crystal Cave. May I borrow it a moment?"

"Oof, my crystal?" Bidoof stepped back. It's my little personal treasure from the cave!" he said as if Dusknoir was going to steal it from him.

"I understand…" Dusknoir gave a sympathetic smile. "I'm not going to take it from you or anything of the sort. All I want…" He turned to the Riolu. "...is for you to touch it, Steve."

Steve instantly realized what Dusknoir wanted.

_The Dimensional Scream._

"If there is a Time Gear there, touching that crystal may trigger a vision!" Dusknoir said.

Most of the guild members were unaware of Steve's ability. Dusknoir's words drew many confused looks from the group.

"The Dimensional SCREAM? What's THAT?" Loudred asked.

Andy loudly cleared his throat and explained to everyone about how Steve would touch something, get a dizzy‑spell, and see visions of the past or future.

"Wow, I never knew that Pokémon other than Psychic‑types could get visions!" Sunflora said, amazed.

"So, Bidoof. Will you allow us to use your crystal?" Dusknoir asked again. Bidoof crumbled under the many stares of the apprentices.

"Oof, well, I can't go against a reason like that." He walked over to Steve, holding out the small crystal.

Steve took a deep breath and braced himself for a vision.

"Here goes nothing…" He laid a paw on the crystal. Dizziness immediately set in.

A flash.

A scene at a place filled with crystals came into his view. On the ground was a Pokémon that looked much like Uxie and Mesprit, only with a blue head. He was lying on the ground, panting and weak as Grovyle stepped to the water.

"_No… you can't…_" _the figure said._

"_I'll take the Time Gear!_" _Grovyle dived into the lake._

Steve was brought back to the present by another flash.

"What did you see?" Andy asked as Steve blinked.

"I saw… a Pokémon that looked like Uxie and Mesprit… Beaten up by Grovyle. He was about to steal the Time Gear…"

"Oof, I can't believe you got all that from this little crystal," Bidoof said, astonished.

"Was the Pokémon Azelf?" Sunflora asked.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure."

"I have a question," Chimecho spoke. "Was that vision you had from the past… or the future?"

_I've never thought about that before..._ Steve thought. _Did the vision show me the past or the future?_

"Sorry, I don't know," he finally said.

"If that's the case," Dugtrio said, "then the Time Gear may have already been stolen, if that was a past event."

Worry swept across the room.

Dusknoir spoke up again. "Perhaps… or perhaps not. Steve, you said Uxie contacted Mesprit and told her that the Time Gear had been stolen, correct?" Steve nodded in response.

"Did she mention anything about Azelf?"

"No, the first time we heard about Azelf was right here from you, Dusknoir, sir," Andy answered.

Dusknoir slammed a fist into his palm as he recognized the conclusion.

"Then there's still hope! If that were a past event, then Mesprit would have mentioned Azelf. Since she did not, the Time Gear must be still be at Crystal Cave! If we move out now, we may be able to stop Grovyle!"

Steve nodded. "I get it. We have to get there and protect the Time Gear!"

With Crystal Cave their destination, the apprentices cheered and headed out.

Steve and Andy took their time to prepare while everyone else headed out to Crystal Cave.


	12. Meeting

**Chapter 12: Meeting**

"Everyone else should be in there already," Steve said as they arrived at the entrance to Crystal Cave.

"Yeah." Andy nodded. "Let's find the Time Gear. It must be really deep inside."

Team Galaxy headed in.

Residents of the cave varied, but occasionally they came across Geodude, a ball of rock with a face and arms. Steve took them down with ease.

Large snakes called Seviper were also encountered. They had dark blue bodies with large yellow spots, with a tail red in color. One bit Andy, and he got poisoned.

"Urk!" Andy clutched his bite wound. "Not feeling… well!"

"Hang on." Steve rummaged the bag for a Pecha Berry, a pink berry which could cure poison. He found one and gave it to Andy, who gratefully ate it.

"Ah…" Andy sighed in relief when the poison vanished.

Steve patted him on the back. "Try to be a bit more careful next time."

"Says you."

Laughing, they continued on.

Crystal Cave was a beautiful shade of blue when they came in, but was getting more magenta in color deeper in. Lining the walls were crystals glistening with traces of moisture and light gently reflected off the walls.

"Wow..." Steve gazed at the cave's beauty.

"This isn't really the time for sightseeing!" Andy dodged an attack from a Donphan, a bulky, Ground‑type elephant. "A little help?"

"Sorry." Steve tore his eyes off of the walls and smacked the Donphan with a palm. It fainted after several more hits.

"Ouch, what a big pain…" Steve had been hit by its Rollout attack, where it had curled up into a ball and shot towards him at an alarming speed for something so big.

"_You_ need to be a little more careful next time," Andy said.

"Good advice," Steve replied.

An empty room waited up ahead with a dead‑end.

"Is this it?" Andy glanced around. "There must be a secret somewhere."

"These crystals are cool," Steve noted.

Three tall crystals towered over the two explorers. Each were shining in a different color. The crystals stood in a triangle formation.

"Whoa…" Andy walked up to one and touched it with a paw.

It flashed and changed color, from yellow to blue.

"Hey, check this out!" Andy called Steve over. Andy touched the crystal again, and it changed from blue to orange.

Steve ran up to another and touched it. The red crystal changed to yellow.

"There has to be a trick to this," he said. "It's gotta be some sort of puzzle."

"The crystals change color when we touch them," Andy pointed out.

Steve touched the crystal again, the color changing on contact. He got something else, though.

_Whoa, a Dimensional Scream._

He swayed when a flash hit and everything was dark.

"_Azelf is the being of willpower. It's the force that drives and unifies us. To get going, we gotta have all the crystals the same color! What's the color of willpower, though? It has to be the color of Azelf's spirit. But what is that color?_"

Another flash hit and Steve blinked, shaking his head.

_That voice… it sounded a little familiar for some reason. It echoed too much though… _he thought.

Andy stared at him. "Did you get another vision?"

"A voice told me that we have to change all the crystals here to the same color," Steve said, looking at the crystals.

"Hmm…" Andy glanced at the crystals as well. "But what color?"

"I can figure this out," Steve said. "Just… give me a second."

_Willpower… what color is it? Azelf's color, maybe?_

Raising a paw, he touched the crystal in front of him. It turned blue.

_...Isn't Azelf's head blue?_

Steve walked around the room, turning all of the crystals blue.

"Maybe that's it?" he said as he finished.

At first, nothing happened, until the crystals flashed and a sound emanated from them. Streams of electricity suddenly shot from all three and connected in the center.

"We better back up!" Steve and his partner backed off from the crystals.

Then an enormous crystal emerged from the ground with a rumbling noise where the electricity met. A large hole was in the middle of crystal, a tunnel going down. The electricity ceased, and a way stood before the explorers.

"Well, that's that." Steve clapped his paws.

"Awesome!" Andy jumped into the air. "Let's go!"

"I'm good at solving puzzles," Steve remarked, following Andy into the newly revealed tunnel.

Deep Crystal Cave contained water and of course, Water‑types. One they came across was a Floatzel, an orange weasel-like Pokémon.

Deeper the explorers went, the more beautiful the cave became. Water down there was blue as the crystals around it, and was incredibly clean and clear when it wasn't reflecting the colors of the walls.

The temperature dropped further in.

Glalie, ball‑shaped ice‑types, appeared. Steve noted this was the first time they ever encountered any Ice‑types. They took them down with no problems and continued on.

Steve and Andy arrived at a pathway which ran along a large lake lined with crystals.

"Cool…" Andy was enchanted with the beauty of the lake.

"Hey!" Steve pointed at a peninsula up ahead. "It looks like someone's over there!"

Running along the pathway going along the water, they soon arrived at a pathway that went straight to the peninsula. The two explorers gasped when they saw what was happening on it.

"I saw this in my vision!"

Azelf lay on the ground, breathing hard. Grovyle was behind him, ready to leap into the lake. Even though it was too late, the two explorers rushed forward anyway.

With Azelf out of the way, Grovyle was free to grab the final Time Gear. He was so close.

"The others… told me about you…" Azelf said. He looked much like Uxie and Mesprit, but with a blue, triangular head.

Grovyle glanced back. "You know about me?"

"Grovyle… the thief… Azelf panted, "I thought… I would be able to… take you on myself…"

He smirked before continuing.

"But I thought… there was still the possibility… that I might lose… so I prepared a fail‑safe."

Grovyle whirled around. "What?" He immediately searched for a trap.

Azelf's golden eyes flashed. The ground shook.

"What have you done?" Grovyle demanded, steadying himself, ready for an attack.

Numerous crystals sprouted with a sharp cutting sound around the lake. The crystals didn't stop sprouting until the lake was completely covered up in a sheet of sharp, hard, and bristling crystal.

"The lake is covered in crystal?" Grovyle said in shock.

Azelf smiled. "Even for my life… I'll make sure… you'll never get… the Time Gear…" He passed out.

Grovyle, furious, turned to the guardian again. "Azelf! I _need_ that Time Gear!"

Then the two Pokémon from the desert lake came dashing up and blocked his path. Grovyle growled in fustration.

"Stop right there, Grovyle!" Andy yelled.

"Out of my way! Both of you!" Grovyle's hands clenched into fists.

"No!"

"Fine! If you won't move, I'll make you!" Grovyle readied himself for a fight.

He rushed at the Riolu first, lashing out with his leaf blades. Steve dodged and used Force Palm, knocking Grovyle back.

Andy shot a stream of electricity at him and Grovyle recoiled. Taking his chance, the Pikachu Quick Attacked him over and over. Grunting, Grovyle spun, sending Andy flying. Grovyle leapt up into the air to attack, only to clash with the Riolu's punch. Both landed on their feet and rushed up to each other, locked in combat.

"We… won't let you steal… the Time Gear!" Steve shoved his opponent away as Andy got up and launched another stream of electricity at Grovyle. It missed, and the Grass‑type lunged and slashed at Andy with his leaf blades. The Pikachu screamed when the attack connected. Andy fell to the ground.

"I'm just wasting my time," Grovyle said to himself as he attacked the Riolu once more. The pest dodged, launching his Quick Attack upon him. Shrugging off the blow, Grovyle slashed at the Riolu when he caught his arm. He swung his other leaf blade and the Riolu raised his other arm to catch the attack as well.

They stared into each other's eyes.

"Get out of my way," Grovyle said, his voice a low growl.

Steve remained silent, holding Grovyle's bladed arms at bay.

"I'm going to finish this now!" Grovyle used his strength to spin the Riolu around.

Steve cried out when Grovyle kicked him in the back of the knee. He fell as Grovyle clutched the back of his head and quickly slammed it into the ground.

The Riolu let out a moan, and he stopped moving.

"Hmph," Grovyle huffed. He turned to Azelf, but that Pikachu, was still awake. He stood in front of Azelf's unconscious form, shaking from weakness.

Grovyle groaned, exasperated.

"Move," he commanded. He didn't want to hurt anyone… only if he absolutely had to.

"I won't… let… you…" Andy gasped, swaying a bit. He had a slash wound on his chest, but still managed to stay standing.

Grovyle sighed. "If you're not going to move, I'm just going to have to _eliminate _you to get you out of my way…" His words had no effect, as the Pikachu held his ground.

"N-never…"

Closing his eyes, Grovyle groaned. He would not be able to sleep for the rest of his life after this.

"For the Time Gear!" he finally shouted and struck.

"Oh… my head…" Steve's forehead was in serious pain. He raised his head and tried to clear the blurriness in his vision. He thought he saw a big, grey ghost standing in front of Grovyle.

"Team Galaxy!" Dusknoir had blocked Grovyle's attack at Andy. "Allow me to handle this!" He punched Grovyle across the face, sending him flying backwards.

"You!" Grovyle stood up. "You're persistent, aren't you?"

"Hello, Grovyle," Dusknoir said, ready to fight. "Are you ready?"

"Do they… know each other?" Steve murmured from his prone position on the ground. Andy was already by his side.

"Looks like it…" the Pikachu said weakly.

"Dusknoir, I'm surprised you found this place, but if you want a fight, c'mon," Grovyle said calmly.

"Ah, but are you ready for _this_?" Dusknoir raised his arms up in the air, with a metal sound.

They struck and there was a sudden flash of light.

Grovyle had vanished.

"Curses!" Dusknoir swore. "Blast that infernal Grovyle! He cannot escape me!" Dusknoir vanished himself, leaving Steve and Andy alone.

"That was a really close one…" Andy sighed in relief, then passed out.

"They're both... gone..." Steve said to himself. "How do they… know each other?"

He heard the guild members' voices behind him before he lost consciousness.

* * *

"_It's times like this that you need to toughen up, and just work with things as they are..._

"_Times like these, you just need to move..._

"_No time to be afraid or feel uncertain of what might be waiting…_"

* * *

With a gasp, Steve opened his eyes. He and Andy were back in the guild, in their beds. Steve sat up and groaned, touching his throbbing head with a paw.

"Take it easy!" Chimecho was hovering over them. "We found both of you near Azelf at the lake. You had some terrible injuries, and you've been out for several hours now."

Andy was awake as well. "Is the Time Gear at the lake?"

"Yep." Chimecho nodded, bobbing in the air.

"Where's Dusknoir?" Steve asked, concerned.

"He went after Grovyle, and we haven't heard from him since."

"What about Azelf?" Andy asked.

"He's already up and about here at the guild," Chimecho replied. "Compared to you two, his injuries weren't that severe."

Andy sighed in relief.

"Now, I'd better let the rest of the guild know you two are alright." Chimecho shook, a ringing sound echoing from her. "They're awake, everyone!"

Every apprentice in the guild stampeded into the bedroom with a rumble. The chatter was all about the concern they had for the two explorers for being unconscious for so long, and their injuries.

"Hey, take it easy!" Steve shrunk back, abashed by the attention. "We made it out okay!"

He and Andy laughed with the rest of the guild.

"But more importantly, I need to tell everyone something."

The group went out in the meeting area. Azelf was also present, watching.

"Listen up, everyone. I think Dusknoir and Grovyle know each other," Steve said.

Everyone began to chatter again at the news when an alarm rang through the guild.

Chatot turned to the sentry post. "Diglett, what's the alarm about?"

"Deputy Magnemite has an announcement," Diglett responded. "Deputy Magnemite! Please speak loudly and clear down the grate!" he shouted down the hole.

"OFFICER MAGNEZONE HAS CALLED A PUBLIC MEETING AT THE SQUARE," the deputy's robotic voice echoed into the guild. "HE REQUESTS THAT THE GUILD ALSO ATTEND! DUSKNOIR PLANS TO EXPLAIN SEVERAL MATTERS! THAT IS ALL!"

The room was filled with chatter from the guild members. They headed out to go to Treasure Town's square to the meeting.

As the guild walked as a group to the town square, Steve and Andy walked alongside Azelf, who hovered along with the group.

"The guild members told me that you protected me back at the lake until Dusknoir showed up," Azelf said, looking slightly embarrassed. "I suppose I owe you two some thanks." He gave a small smile and Andy returned it with an even bigger smile of his own.

The guild arrived at the town square. Uxie and Mesprit were also there as well as most of the town's residents.

Azelf, overjoyed to see his two friends, hovered over to them.

"You're not hurt?" Mesprit asked him.

"Nope, I'm fine."

"The Time Gear won't be stolen while you're away?" Uxie asked and Azelf nodded.

"It's under a sheet of crystal," he said in a smug tone. "Getting it won't be easy."

Steve watched the three of them. They were more than just guardians of the Time Gears. They were very close friends.

Dusknoir called out to Steve and Andy, waving at them. They shifted through the crowd to get the Ghost‑type.

"Both of you are recovering well, I presume?" Dusknoir said.

"My head still kinda hurts." Steve rubbed his forehead.

"What happened to Grovyle?" Andy asked.

"He escaped," Dusknoir said with an edge to his voice.

_What did Grovyle do to make him so angry?_ Steve was about to ask when Officer Magnezone got everyone's attention.

"EXCUSE ME! BUT THE GREAT DUSKNOIR PLANS TO INFORM US OF MANY MATTERS AND THAT TOPIC WILL BE INCLUDED!" he said. "NOW, I'D LIKE TO GET THIS TOWN MEETING UNDERWAY!"

Nodding, Dusknoir hovered to the front of the meeting area. Everyone grew silent.

"WE HAVE CALLED THIS MEETING TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF TIME GEAR THEFT LATELY," Magnezone said. "THIS HAS BEEN A MAJOR PROBLEM AS YOU ALL MAY HAVE GUESSED."

The crowd's chatter arose, wondering if things were going to get worse.

"THE THIEF, GROVYLE HAS ELUDED CAPTURE FOR A LONG TIME. HE HAS STOLEN MANY TIME GEARS, BUT THIS TIME, HE HAS FAILED TO STEAL A TIME GEAR."

There was a good amount of applause at these good news.

"AND THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR STOPPING HIM WOULD BE THE GREAT DUSKNOIR HERE." Magnezone turned to indicate Dusknoir, who was hovering beside him. There was more applause.

"Officer, may I take over here?" Dusknoir asked politely.

Magnezone nodded, then moved aside to allow Dusknoir to take his place.

He spoke in a grave tone despite the happy news moments ago. "Grovyle has been stopped this time, but he is still at large. He will undoubtedly attempt to steal the Time Gear again."

Nervous chatter broke out from everyone again.

"Therefore, I should explain several matters," Dusknoir said. "My dear friends Steve and Andy asked me earlier if I knew the thief, before all this. The truth is… yes, I do know Grovyle."

A pause.

"He is from the future."

Everyone gasped, and began blurting out questions.

"The future?"

"For real?"

"Grovyle's from the FUTURE?"

Dusknoir waved his hands downward. "Please, settle down."

The group quieted down.

"In the future, Grovyle is an escaped criminal and has eluded capture for a long time," Dusknoir said after everyone went silent. "I have been chasing him for a while now. He plans to steal the Time Gears to stop time!"

"But," Teddiursa spoke up, "what would that do for him?"

"His goal…" Dusknoir said, "is nothing less than causing the paralysis of the entire planet."

"What… what happens when a planet is paralyzed?" Andy sounded curious but also frightened.

"No winds will blow, the seasons cease to exist, the day never comes, and the world is cloaked in eternal darkness. It is nothing short of the complete ruin of the world," Dusknoir answered.

The dark description of this future was enough to make Steve's stomach churn uncomfortably.

"Hey hey! I've got a question!" Corphish stepped up. "It's about you, Dusknoir, sir! I know you're all worldly and wise and all that, but how do you know all this?"

Several Pokémon in the crowd started wondering themselves. Come to think of it, Steve hadn't thought about this before until it was brought up.

Dusknoir smiled understandingly. "Corphish makes a valid point. Normally, I shouldn't have any way of knowing this. However, I know this since I too, am from the future."

Everyone gasped in utter shock. A visitor from the future, among them this whole time.

"I pursued Grovyle from the future and have been trying to capture him for the longest time," Dusknoir said. "Now he has proved himself to be a greater threat than ever. So, I must ask you all: please, help me stop him and to bring peace to your time."

There was a defiant cheer from everyone in the crowd.

"Yeah! We'll help stop him!"

"He won't steal another Time Gear!"

The three guardians approached Dusknoir as the crowd chatted among themselves.

"Dusknoir, to get to the Time Gear," Azelf said, "Grovyle knows he has to get at me. So I've been thinking that we could draw him to Crystal Lake and trap him there."

Dusknoir nodded. "So you're suggesting we bait the trap, but that would require possibly putting the three of you in danger," he said, concern in his tone.

"I'd like nothing more!" Mesprit said confidently.

"If it is a risk we must take, we're all willing to take it," Uxie added, smiling.

Dusknoir turned back to the crowd and explained the plan. After he was done, the Pokémon in the guild argued about who would help. He spoke over them though.

"I apologize, I appreciate all the offers of assistance, but for the capture of Grovyle, I wish to work alone."

Voices from the guild members quieted in disappointment.

"Even if he does go to Crystal Cave to stop the Time Gear from being sealed," Dusknoir said, "Grovyle will be extremely cautious. If everyone went there, he would notice the unusually high amount of Pokémon in the area and stay away. I'd like to handle this myself. I am sorry for my selfishness." He hung his head.

"Well, if that's how it has to be…" Sunflora said, not holding it against the explorer.

"Then THAT'S how it is." Loudred agreed.

Wigglytuff's Guild returned home when the meeting was concluded a few minutes later.

"So that's how it is!" Chatot said as he was done recapping the plan for capturing Grovyle. "We stay out of this. Magnezone has close off Crystal Cave for this task. You should all spread the rumor about the Time Gear being sealed away but not so much that it will seem suspicious. Dismissed!"

Steve and Andy headed out to do their regular jobs as normal.

Three days passed since the town meeting. Steve and Andy's wounds from fighting Grovyle had healed enough at this point. Steve wondered how Dusknoir was doing in his attempts to capture Grovyle. He also wondered about the future where Dusknoir had come from. Was it peaceful?

They received news that morning. Chatot told everyone to be patient, when the alarm went off.

"Deputy Magnemite's here!" Diglett called.

"WE HAVE A REPORT OF THE STATUS OF GROVYLE," the deputy announced. "WE ARE PLEASED TO DELIVER THIS REPORT! DUSKNOIR HAS SUCCEEDED IN THE CAPTURE OF GROVYLE!"

All the guild members cheered excitedly at these news.

"DUSKNOIR HAS ALSO INFORMED US HE WILL BE RETURNING TO THE FUTURE WITH GROVYLE!"

Excitement from the guild members went away quickly.

"HE WILL BE LEAVING FROM THE TOWN SQUARE THROUGH WHAT HE CALLED A 'DIMENSIONAL HOLE'! I DO NOT CLAIM TO KNOW HOW IT WORKS, BUT HE WISHES TO BID EVERYONE FAREWELL BEFORE HE LEAVES! HE REQUESTS THE GUILD ATTEND! THAT IS ALL!"

Everyone in the guild exchanged sad glances with each other.

Steve sighed. "He's done all this stuff for us and now he's leaving…"

The guild headed out to the town.

An odd hole was waiting in town at the head of the Town Square. Magnezone and his deputies guarded the hole, preventing curious Pokémon from coming near it.

Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit were present, waiting. Steve and Andy were happy to see them unharmed.

"The trap worked?" Andy asked excitedly.

"Yep." Azelf nodded.

"It went off without a hitch. Gotta hand it to Dusknoir." Mesprit sounded impressed.

Team Galaxy had a friendly conversation with the guardian trio when someone yelled.

"Here comes the Great Dusknoir!"

"MAKE WAY!" Loudred shouted, his voice easily roaring over the ruckus. Everyone parted to make a path to the dimensional hole.

Dusknoir, two Sableye, and a tied up Grovyle came through the crowd, steadily towards the hole. Grovyle was being pushed along. Everyone was quiet while they watched, whispering among each other.

"That's Grovyle?"

"He certainly looks like a bad Pokémon, all tied up like that."

Grovyle had been tied up with a bunch of rope, and his body and arms weren't visible. Dusknoir hovered up near the hole and spoke, his arms wide.

"Everyone, I thank you all for your help with capturing Grovyle! This should bring many years of continual peace to your time."

"_Mfff! Hmfff!_" Grovyle struggled to speak through the rope muffling his voice.

"Grovyle can't say anything tied up like that," Andy murmured.

"He is most vile, as you can see." Dusknoir glared at the convict. Grovyle quit struggling and glared back at Dusknoir.

"I am afraid I must now return to my own time." Dusknoir stood directly in front of the hole. Tears were appearing all over the crowd. Chatot even started wailing in sorrow.

Dusknoir turned to the guardians. "I trust you will return the Time Gears?"

"We'll make sure they're returned to their proper locations," Uxie assured him.

"The task is yours." Dusknoir nodded. He turned and started towards hole but then stopped.

"Ah, yes. I almost forgot," he muttered and turned to the crowd again. "Before I go, I wish to see my two good friends one last time: Team Galaxy!"

Andy clearly tried not to sob. "C'mon, Steve, let's get up there." Tears were dripping down his face at this point.

Steve followed his partner to the front of the crowd where Dusknoir was hovering.

"Thank you for all you've done for us, Dusknoir," Andy said, still crying.

"You've saved us two times." Steve waved a paw. "Take care in the future."

"Well, this is goodbye…" Dusknoir said slowly, bowing to them in respect.

"...or is it?"

Dusknoir suddenly reached out and grabbed both Steve and Andy, firmly wrapping his huge fingers around their bodies. They both yelped, startled as he lifted them into the air.

"You two, are coming with me!" Dusknoir shouted as he swiftly backed up into the dimensional hole with them.

The crowd of Pokémon immediately went silent, in utter disbelief at what just happened as the hole disappeared.

"Oh my gosh," Sunflora said softly. "What just happened?"

No one could answer.


	13. Future

**Chapter 13: Future**

"Wake up, Steve!" Andy cried, shaking his partner.

"Ugh, where are we?" Steve sat up slowly. Everything around him was a blur.

"I-I don't know..." Andy sounded scared. "I wish I had some idea though…"

Steve blinked and rubbed the blurriness out of his eyes and observed their surroundings.

They were in an empty rock chamber. Everything was a dull grey. There was only one exit blocked by a very sturdy‑looking set of metal bars.

"We've been locked up, haven't we?" Andy said, shaking in fear.

Steve approached the metal bars and pulled, then pushed them. He tried punching the bars too. They stayed firmly shut.

"It's no good. We _are_ locked up."

"What's going on? Why are we locked up?" Andy took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "So we were watching Dusknoir leave, and he grabbed us, then pulled us into the dimensional hole," he said, reviewing the events.

Andy found it to be correct and started panicking again.

"Is this the future, then?" He glanced around and shook his head. "This can't be right! Didn't we stop Grovyle?"

Steve didn't say anything, already getting queasy by looking at all the grey color. It was completely lifeless.

Then the bars opened up and four Pokémon walked in. The Sableye.

"Ah, they're awake, how convenient," the one in the lead said in a nasal voice. "Let's do this quickly."

All four Sableye rushed at Steve and Andy. Before they realized what was happening, cloths was pressed across their eyes.

"Hey! I can't see!" Andy was forcibly turned around.

"Shhh. Come quietly," a Sableye said somewhere from Steve's right. Then the two captives were pushed forward.

"There's no need to push, y'know," Steve complained, but they were lead forward, blindfolded. Shortly after, Steve was stopped and felt something being pressed against him. Then the blindfold came off and he was in darkness for a few seconds before a spotlight shined on him.

The light blinded Steve. After a few seconds of blinking, his eyes adjusted. He glanced down and realized he was tied firmly to a pillar with an excessive amount of rope. To his left, another spotlight shined on Andy, who also found that he was tied up as well.

"What the-?" Andy cried out in astonishment upon seeing their situation. "Why are we all tied up?"

Steve struggled but the ropes weren't going anywhere.

"Where are we, anyway?" Andy asked, looking around.

"This is a stockade…" a voice answered from Steve's right. Another spotlight shined and Grovyle was there, tied up to a pillar in the same manner as them. The three of them were lined up, tied to individual pillars.

"This is where they get rid of those who go against them." Grovyle looked and sounded almost bored.

"What?! What did we do?!" Andy yelled.

"I don't know but whatever it is, you're here to be exterminated," Grovyle said bluntly.

"But we haven't done anything wrong!" Andy protested. "We're not like you!"

Grovyle continued to look bored. "I don't care. While you're busy freaking out, why don't you pay attention?" he suggested, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Aside from its occupants, the room was empty. Then the whole room was lit as several yards away from them, a door opened. Six Sableye walked in… followed by Dusknoir.

"Dusknoir, sir! What's going on? Why is this happening?" Andy called to him.

"Begin preparations. Ignore him," Dusknoir said to the Sableye.

"Dusknoir! What's going on?!"

"There's no point in trying to talk to them." Grovyle lowered his voice. "Shh. Speak softer so they can't hear you."

"Why should we trust you?" Andy asked, his tone very accusing.

"Because I'm not the one fighting you right now!" Grovyle glanced at the Sableye sharpening their claws. "Would you rather wait for them?"

Andy swallowed, looking at the Sableye. "No, definitely not…"

"Now, you two have to cooperate with me and maybe we can all get out of this mess," Grovyle said. "When those Sableye strike, they'll use Fury Swipes. When they do, they'll hit the ropes binding us and that will be our chance."

Steve could already see where Grovyle was getting at with this, but it would be a tight situation and he didn't know how they were going to escape Dusknoir, who was blocking their only exit.

"You, Riolu. What can you do?"

"Huh?" Steve had been asked of something by Grovyle out of the blue. "Uh..." The Riolu thought things over. "When they attack, they'll... they'll probably swipe at the ropes, too."

"When you are ready, begin," Dusknoir ordered the Sableye. "But keep an eye on them. Especially Grovyle there."

The Sableye approached them slowly, their claws raised.

"And the ropes will probably get loose," Steve continued.

"Then we strike back." Grovyle nodded. "Yeah, that will do."

"What if they don't hit the ropes?" Andy stared at the approaching Sableye. "What if they don't use Fury Swipes at all?"

"Don't even think about it," Grovyle replied, suddenly sounding nervous.

Then the Sableye were on them, slashing repeatedly.

Steve and Andy felt the slashes, some hitting their faces.

"Endure it!" Grovyle grunted as the two on him slashed away. The Sableye were too busy in their attack to hear them. "Just a bit more…"

"If this keeps going, I'm not gonna last!" Andy cried, trying his best to endure the immense amount of pain. Steve was getting worn out fast as well. The Sableye were relentless in their attack.

There was a small tear in the Riolu's ropes.

"Gah! That's enough!" Steve's body suddenly flared with a blue fire. All the other Pokémon in the room stopped and stared at him, surprised.

A bright blue aura engulfed Steve's body. With a shout he easily tore through the rope and landed on his feet. The shocked Sableye stepped back.

"_What is the meaning of this?_" Dusknoir demanded.

With Force Palms, Steve proceeded to take out the Sableye one by one at blinding speed. When he was done, all Sableye were on the ground, dazed.

"Whoa..." Andy gaped at his partner. "Remind me to never make him mad."

"Agreed…" Grovyle replied, his mouth agape as well.

Steve, with the aura still enveloping his entire body, turned towards Dusknoir and began approaching him.

"What?" Dusknoir backed up, surprised at these turn of events.

With a yell, Steve threw a punch in the Ghost-type's direction. Dusknoir dodged and grabbed Steve with his large hands.

Andy and Grovyle watched in worry as Steve struggled with his captor. Then Dusknoir hurled the Riolu towards the middle pillar.

"Argh!" Steve hit the pillar and fell to the ground. The blue aura surrounding his body dissipated.

"Steve! No!" Andy cried out in concern. The Pikachu struggled and finally broke free of his ropes. Grovyle also broke free of his own bonds and took out a wonder orb. He hurled it at the ground, causing a blinding flash of light. The Sableye cried out in pain and surprise as they were blinded.

Grovyle grabbed Steve and Andy's paws, and dived into the ground.

After several minutes of being underground, a hand yanked Steve and Andy up through the dirt. Grovyle put both if them down and glanced around the room, cautious. The room was now empty.

Andy looked around the room. "Dusknoir and the Sableye are gone. Are we… safe?"

"Not for long. C'mon." Grovyle walked over to the door and peeked out for a moment before leading the two explorers out, breaking into a swift run.

Steve and Andy kept up with Grovyle for a while, but the Pikachu was growing exhausted from all the running.

"I'm getting tired!" Andy whined, huffing.

"Just a little further and we should be out of here!" Grovyle spotted a door and pointed to it. "There! There's the door!"

They ran up to the door and burst through, running outside.

What Steve and Andy saw next made them skid to a halt.

The landscape was barren. Gray clouds covered the black sky and the air was completely still, without any trace of wind. Many boulders floated in the air, which was the most bizarre thing they saw. Everything was a dull shade of grey.

"What is this place?" Andy asked, confused by the sight.

Grovyle shook his head. "No time to explain. We've got to get out of here!" He ran, the other two running after him.

Andy wanted more answers. "So... Grovyle…" he panted, "is this really the future?"

"Yeah, you certainly catch on quick," Grovyle said sarcastically.

It had been a serious question and Andy winced.

"How... are we... going to return... to our own time?" he huffed.

"We can think about that when we're somewhere safer!" Grovyle responded. "Right now we need to keep running!"

"I'm... so... tired! I... need... to... rest!"

Grovyle groaned. It was clear that this was an inconvenience for him.

"Alright!" he said, irritated. Seeing a place, he pointed. "There! That should do! We can rest there!"

The spot he had pointed to was next to a cave entrance with a large rock hanging over it. They ran to the spot, and Andy collapsed in exhaustion when they got there.

"You shouldn't be... pushing us so hard..." Steve said.

Grovyle wasn't as winded from their run. "Now, if we keep going, we should eventually be able to-"

"Hold on a second!" Andy quickly sat up. "We agreed to come this far with you just to escape! We didn't agree to tag along with you after that!"

"Do you want to get back to your own time or not?!" Grovyle snapped, annoyed with the Pikachu's attitude.

"You were stealing Time Gears back in our time! You're a criminal! You're not worth trusting!"

Grovyle let out an exasperated growl, furious. Restraining from punching a rock, he took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Fine," he finally said. "It seems like getting your trust is no easy feat. I was thinking we could work together, but there's no point in doing that if we can't trust each other. So I'm going on ahead." He turned and started for the cave.

"Wait! Shouldn't we wait until morning? It's too dark to see right now." Andy looked up at the sky, indicating it.

"I'm sorry to break this to you, but that's not going to happen," Grovyle replied. "Day never comes here."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"The planet is paralyzed in the future," Grovyle said simply.

"You mean Dusknoir's description of the world being paralyzed is…" Andy trailed off.

Steve also remembered what Dusknoir had said. Seeing it for himself made him somewhat unnerved.

"I'm going on ahead." Grovyle turned back to the cave entrance. "You better move soon. Don't let the Sableye get you." With that, he disappeared into the cave.

"What do we do now?" Andy looked at Steve for an answer.

Steve wasn't sure what to do. They were alone in the future, chased by a Pokémon who they thought was their hero.

"I don't know…"

* * *

Team Galaxy rested for several minutes.

"By the way, what you did back there when we were tied up was awesome," Andy said.

Steve glanced at his paws. "I don't really know what I did... I just…"

His paws glowed with a gentle, blue Aura.

"Whoa!" Andy pointed at them.

"I know." Steve stared at the Aura, amused by Andy's reaction. "It looks like I can use this stuff now."

He closed his eyes, concentrating. In the blackness he could see a faint outline where Andy sat. The outline was in the Pikachu's shape. "Hmm, I can sense Aura too..."

"What can you see right now?" Andy asked, curious.

"Just your outline," Steve said, opening his eyes. "That's the only thing I see. Guess I need some practice."

Andy scratched his head. "That's weird; I've heard that Riolu usually don't develop this ability unless..."

Steve gave him a smirk. "But I'm not a normal Riolu, remember?"

"Oh yeah, you're a human," Andy said with a chuckle. "Used to be, anyway."

They rested for several more minutes, pondering over their situation in this world of the future. When they heard the Sableye chuckling in the distance, they stood up.

"We gotta go, now," Steve said urgently. "The Sableye are coming."

Andy nodded. "I hear them too. Let's get out of here."

They turned and ran into the cave where Grovyle disappeared into.

The cave was unlike anything Steve and Andy had seen before. They traveled on narrow walkways with a dark abyss down below.

"I wanna get out of here now," Andy whimpered.

Magnemite hovered up to them occasionally and Steve took them down easily. They were grey spheres with an eye and two magnets at the side of their heads.

Steve and Andy couldn't see very well due to the darkness, and they ran into dead ends several times.

Giant snakes made of rock called Onyx came along and were no match for Steve's Force Palm.

Magneton appeared to be three Magnemite stuck together. They were no serious threat to the team.

For a long time, Steve and Andy wandered the dark passageways wondering if they were ever going to get out. They didn't wonder long, as Steve spotted the exit. They ran out of the cave and saw more of the grey landscape before them. They saw a path running against a rock wall and took it.

Team Galaxy soon came across a small waterfall. It was completely still. No water fell at all and droplets were suspended in the air.

"Hey, Steve." Andy pointed to the time‑frozen water. "Try touching this."

Steve blinked, before realizing. They needed a vision or a voice; anything that could help them. He walked over to the waterfall. After readying himself, Steve laid a paw on it.

Nothing happened.

He lifted up his paw and tried again. Still nothing.

"Weird... I'm not getting anything." Steve stepped back and crossed his arms.

Andy frowned. "Oh, well, let's just keep on going."

They left the cave and began climbing a gently sloping hill. Ghost-type Pokémon appeared and scared the two explorers a couple of times. Ghastly, black spheres of gas with scary faces, floated up to them. One licked Steve, stunning him. Andy used his electrical attack on it and it disintegrated.

Steve shook his head back and forth, shaking off the paralysis. "Don't want that to happen to me again…"

Continuing on, they encountered Dusclops, which were also Ghost-types. They looked like mummies with a single eye. One had frightened Andy so badly that he fell on his back. Steve punched it, taking it out.

Haunter, purple ghosts with floating hands, scared Andy too. Steve smacked it with his palm.

"C'mon, Andy! Pull yourself together!" Steve said. "They're just some wild Pokémon."

"I-I'll try…" Andy swallowed and followed his partner onward.

They were relieved when they finally reached the top of the hill. It overlooked a lot of the dark landscape.

"Hey, look at all the lights over there!" Andy pointed at a collection of lights in the distance. The lights looked out of place in the dark, grey world.

"Wait, that's the stockade, isn't it?" he realized, disappointed. "Those lights sure look pretty nice, though."

Steve stared at the lights. It was the only bright place in this time period he ever saw.

"What are we gonna do?" Andy whimpered, sitting down. Tears were forming in his eyes.

Steve paced back and forth.

"I miss everyone at home… Bidoof... Sunflora... Chatot... I wanna see them again…" Andy started sobbing softly. Steve stopped pacing to look at him, feeling just as homesick as he was.

_Andy's feeling really sad... We need to get back home... There's only one Pokémon who can help us now._

"Andy, let's go find Grovyle," Steve said firmly. The Pikachu looked up, wiping his wet, reddened eyes from crying. Steve's request was met with some confusion.

"What? Why?"

"Grovyle said he was going back, so…"

"...so he'll know a way back to our time, yeah. But why should we trust _him_?"

" 'Cause he's the only one left who can help us," Steve said. "The only one who can give us answers."

"Well, I can't trust him! He's a bad Pokémon and I... I…" Andy sighed in defeat, his argument worthless.

"You're right," he admitted, standing up. "Grovyle's the only one we have left here. Let's go find him." Andy's mouth curved into a small smile.

Steve smiled back, glad to see Andy smiling. They walked forward, determined to find Grovyle.

"Hey, Steve? Thank you," Andy suddenly said.

The Riolu glanced back the Pikachu, somewhat surprised.

"You've been trying to be strong for both of us. I know I'm not alone…"

Upon hearing Andy's words, Steve smiled. "Of course you aren't. We're a team."

* * *

Steve and Andy were jogging down a dirt path. They didn't encounter any more ghosts in the area, but the two were still on their guard.

"I've had enough of this place," Steve said. The still air and the darkness were still giving him a really uneasy feeling. He already missed the joyful bustle of Treasure Town.

"Me too," Andy added. "I just wanna go home."

Several moments later, Steve and Andy arrived at a ruined structure of some sort.

"Well, the only way Grovyle would've gone is this way," Steve said. "There were no branching paths so far."

After repacking at a Kangaskhan Statue nearby, Steve dashed into the ruins, Andy right on his heels.

Steel-type Pokémon dominated this dungeon, as they were constantly encountered. A bizarre looking Pokémon was a Probopass, which was a floating, blue head with a red cap on the top.

Muk, a Poison-type, were encountered as well, being nothing more than purple blobs of sludge. Steve palm-struck one.

"Eww, gross!" He shook the sludge off his paw after the Muk fainted.

Andy giggled at his partner's action, and they moved on.

Soon finding a place to rest they stopped to eat apples, which looked bright red in contrast to the grey surroundings. Then the explorers stood up, energized and ready to move on.

More Pokémon got in their way and Steve showed no mercy to any of them. Shelgon, white egg-shaped hides with eyes and legs, weren't a problem for him. Andy took care of others with his powerful electrical attacks. They kept running through, taking out any Pokémon that stopped them.

Soon Steve and Andy reached a large chamber with a few rocks on the ground.

"Look!" Steve pointed at someone lying on the ground.

"That's Grovyle!" Andy said.

They started towards him but Steve stopped as he sensed something was wrong.

"Stay back, you two!" It sounded like Grovyle was having a struggle with someone, but Andy saw no one there.

"What's going on, Grovyle?" he asked.

"There's an enemy here," Grovyle said, his eyes shut in pain. He managed to open one eye and glanced in their direction.

"_It's right next to you!_"

Andy glanced around wildly, trying to find an enemy but not seeing any threat.

Steve, however, had his eyes closed. He saw a red outline of some sort right in front of him. He opened his eyes.

It was coming from a rock on the ground.

"I sense an Aura coming from this rock-"

"**You dare trespass on our domain? And without apology?**" voices said.

Andy stared at the rock. "What? That-"

"**Who do you think you are? To look upon us without paying the price?**"

A cloudy figure emerged from the rock, and the two explorers jumped back in surprise. Its face was distorted as its appearance shifted. Steve couldn't see a clear face. It was swirling with a sickly green and purple color.

"**We… are… Spiritomb!**" the ghost inside the rock yelled, its voice sounding like many voices speaking.

"You're the one holding Grovyle?" Steve said.

"**He also trespassed our domain. We are one hundred eight in number and we will have our justice! Prepare for your punishment!**" Spiritomb roared and advanced on the two explorers, cackling.

Steve stepped forward and used Force Palm on Spiritomb. Andy helped with his Thunderbolt.

The spirits fired a strange beam at Steve. He staggered back, his eyes rolling. Then he started stumbling around, confused.

Andy zapped Spiritomb again.

"**You will pay for your insolence!**" Spiritomb lunged toward Andy. He tried to evade, but the attack looked odd, Spiritomb appearing to shift as it moved. He got hit by the attack despite his attempts to get out of the way.

"The room is spinning," Steve groaned as he staggered about. "Give me a minute…"

Andy attacked Spiritomb with Quick Attack but had little effect. Spiritomb cackled, the voices echoing in distortion.

Steve shook his head, clearing the confusion. He looked around and saw Andy backed into a corner by Spiritomb.

"**Take this!**" The Ghost-type readied another attack. Andy shut his eyes, bracing himself for pain. After several moments of nothing, he opened his eyes a bit. Steve had apparently thrown a Totter Seed at Spiritomb. "**What the-**"

"Now you know what it feels like." Steve smirked and gave the thing a good kick.

Spiritomb screeched, the rock bouncing backwards several feet. Steve leapt into the air, flipped, and slammed down the side of his paw into it.

"Brick Break!"

The spirits howled in agony after that attack. The room shook for a moment before Spiritomb was sucked back into its rock. It moved as if looking around. Something flew out of Grovyle, going into the rock. It looked at Steve, hopping back as if he had scared it.

"Eep! R-run! Run away!" a tiny voice squeaked from the rock. Then it bounced away quickly.

"What was that all about?" Steve crossed his arms.

"It ran away- ouch!" Grovyle winced as he got up.

"Are you okay, Grovyle?" Andy asked, hurrying up to him.

"I'll be fine," Grovyle muttered, flexing his limbs.

"Were you on the ground like that for a while?" Steve said.

"Yeah." Grovyle stretched a shoulder. "I'm just a little stiff."

"So that was a bad Pokémon?" Andy glanced in the direction Spiritomb had run away.

"No," Grovyle answered. "There's plenty of Pokémon here in the future like that. Just bitter from the darkness. It lost control because it got so angry."

He noticed they were having a civil conversation.

"So, does this mean you two finally trust me?"

Andy was still uncertain. "I guess? I admit, I still don't really trust you..."

Grovyle huffed out a breath, his hopeful expression replaced by his usual annoyed one.

"Right. I'm off," he said and walked towards the exit.

"Wait!" Andy cried and Grovyle turned around to listen, his arms crossed.

"I don't really trust you, but you're the only one who can explain to us what's happening here," Andy said. "Please, Grovyle. Can you explain it all to us?"

"And what if I'm lying?" Grovyle responded. "My explanation being nothing more than a pack of lies?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "You don't need to be like that, y'know."

"We'll consider your words first, and then decide," Andy said, ignoring Steve's remark.

Grovyle considered his words and his expression softened slightly.

"Alright… c'mon…" He lowered his arms to his sides and hopped for the exit. The two explorers followed him.

Team Galaxy were led by Grovyle at a gentler pace than before. They found a small cove that was secure enough, at least for Grovyle.

"Right, this should keep us hidden from view." Grovyle joined Steve and Andy in the cove, who were already sitting down.

"Okay, first things first," Steve said. "How did the planet get paralyzed?"

Grovyle sat down before starting his story. "It all started about a hundred years ago, back in your time with the collapse of Temporal Tower. A legendary Pokémon called _Dialga_ watches over it. When the tower collapsed, Dialga lost all sense of self. Now he's little more than a feral presence: Primal Dialga. He's only concerned with preserving time now. I traveled to the past to stop all that from happening."

"Wait a second, weren't you stealing the Time Gears to stop time?" Andy said, confused.

"You must be joking…" Grovyle shook his head. "No, I was collecting the Time Gears because they're needed to prevent Temporal Tower from collapsing. If I can get them to the top and put them there, it should stop its destruction and prevent time from freezing. When the Time Gears are taken from their places, it's only temporary."

"What about what Dusknoir told us?" Andy asked. "About you being a criminal and trying to bring the end of the world?"

"Lies," Grovyle responded. "What else? Dusknoir is only a pawn that obeys Primal Dialga. He was sent after me to stop me from preventing the tower's collapse."

"Dusknoir? The same Dusknoir that saved us? He's…" Andy trailed off.

"I know it's hard to believe-"

"I _can't _believe it!" Andy looked ready to cry again.

"It makes sense though," Steve said. "What he did to us, what he's trying to do now…"

Andy abruptly stood up.

"Where are you going?" Grovyle raised an eyebrow.

"I'm gonna go ask Dusknoir. See if all this is really true."

Steve and Grovyle jumped to their feet at the same time.

"Are you crazy? You're just heading for your own doom by doing that!" Grovyle shouted.

"Then how am I supposed to know if this is true or not?" Andy protested.

"Didn't I already ask you about this? You said you'd consider my words first and judge for yourself!" Grovyle stepped up to the Pikachu, who shied away.

"It's times like this that you need to toughen up, and just work with things as they are!" Grovyle stated. "Times like these, you just need to move. No time to be afraid or feel uncertain of what might be waiting."

At those oddly familiar words, Steve stared at him. _Why does that sound familiar?_

Grovyle turned and started walking towards a forest up ahead.

"What are you going to do?" Steve asked him.

"I'm heading for Dusk Forest. It's just up ahead," Grovyle said. "I can find Celebi there. We agreed to meet there if I ended up coming back here." He turned his head to look at the both of them. "Come along if you want, but you need to make up your mind on who you're going to believe. We won't get anywhere if you can't trust me." With that, Grovyle hopped towards the forest.

"What am I supposed to believe?" Andy murmured, lowering his head. "I'm just so confused…"

"Well, one thing's for sure." Steve gently placed a paw on Andy's shoulder. "Here in the future, time's frozen. I think we gotta focus on getting back to our own time first. Grovyle's right; there's no time to be afraid of being totally wrong about him now." Steve smiled softly. "Besides, we've been in tougher situations than this."

Andy listened, and looked up after a moment.

"Alright, I understand, Steve. Wrong or not, let's catch up with Grovyle."

The two explorers dashed into the forest, determined to find a way to go back to their time.

After catching up with Grovyle, they arrived at the edge of the forest.

"This is Dusk Forest," Grovyle said, looking around. "It gets its name from the darkness that continually shrouds it. We should hurry."

"Why?" Andy asked, "I don't think those Sableye-"

"Don't underestimate their persistence. There is also something else that concerns me, though." Worry was edging into Grovyle's voice. "Celebi helped me go back in time, so she's volunteered her help to stop the collapse of Temporal Tower…"

"Maybe they're on to Celebi too," Steve murmured.

"Exactly. So let's get going before the Sableye can catch up." Grovyle proceeded ahead and Andy followed. After a few steps Steve paused and looked around.

_What's this feeling? I know I've felt this before…_

"Steve! C'mon!" Andy called. "We're going!"

_The same feeling I got in Foggy Forest! That's it!_

"Hey!" Grovyle shouted, coming back. "We don't have time to be standing around! C'mon!"

"Hold on, I'm coming..." Steve went to follow Grovyle and Andy into the forest.

Grovyle was a powerful Pokémon. He was much stronger than either of the younger explorers individually.

The forest residents were few in number and were little challenge for Grovyle and his Leaf Blades. Not that Steve and Andy didn't pull their own weight in battle.

Mothim were Bug‑types that looked like grey moths with yellow and orange wings. Steve took them out with help from Grovyle. Jumpluff, Grass‑types with a blue body and cotton balls on their hands and head, were also no trouble for the team.

Grovyle saw just how well Team Galaxy worked together. The Riolu had been willing to go with his explanation while the Pikachu was a bit harder to convince.

Had he been too hard on them? Grovyle shook his head. He wasn't going to get attached to them. He would be gone after all this. Getting their names would only make things harder in the end. This was why he didn't bother with names.

Grovyle hoped they would become a fine exploration team after he saved their time period from this disaster.

Later, the party arrived at clearing.

"Alright, this is where Celebi said she'd meet me," Grovyle said. "She's a little… odd, but she should be here." He glanced around and called out. "Celebi! Come on out, if you're here!"

They waited several moments.

"No one's answering," Steve said.

"Maybe she's not here?" Andy glanced at the trees. "She didn't get captured, did she?"

"Captured? Me?" a voice echoed from the trees.

"Was that my imagination?" Andy wondered.

"It wasn't your imagination!" the voice said brightly, then laughed. "But captured? That's something that won't be happening to me!"

A light glowed in the center of the clearing. When it dimmed, there was a Pokémon hovering in the air. It looked like some sort of pink fairy with fairy‑like wings on her back and two small antenna on top of her head.

Grovyle stepped forward. "Hello, Celebi."

"Hello, my dear Grovyle," Celebi responded sweetly.

"This is Celebi?" Andy furrowed his brow. "She's so small…"

"What?" Celebi huffed. "Don't be making fun of a Pokémon's petite proportions!"

"I'm sorry… I heard that you could help us time travel, so… guess I expected someone bigger…"

Celebi giggled after hearing the apology. "That's alright! Besides, I bet I'm cuter than you thought I was gonna be!" She hovered towards Steve and Andy, winking at them.

Grovyle sighed, having no time for her playfulness. "Celebi, I need your help again."

"Yes, I know. You being here tells me everything I need to know, my dear Grovyle," she said coyly. "You need to get back, yes?"

Grovyle huffed in frustration at the failure in his mission.

"Well, I certainly hope you succeed this time around," Celebi said. "I'm quite tired of all this. I think we'd all like to be spared the pain of this future." She gestured at the dark forest and the grey landscape around them.

"I have to agree," Steve spoke up.

"So, I trust the three of you will be going?" Celebi assumed, looking them over.

"Yeah," Grovyle said. "These two were brought here with me for whatever reason."

Celebi locked eyes with Steve. She landed in front of him and stared into his eyes with a confused expression.

"What?" Steve thought she was a little too close for comfort.

"This can't be…" Celebi murmured, studying him intently.

"Something wrong, Celebi?" Grovyle asked.

Celebi shook her head, breaking eye contact with the Riolu.

"It's nothing… I must be seeing things…" She waved a hand dismissively and floated into the air again. Glancing back at Steve one more time, she flew to the front.

Andy looked at Steve, who shrugged.

"Okay," Celebi said, turning to them. "I saw the three of you coming, so the Passage of Time is prepared for you already. I'll show you the way."

The four of them continued into the dark forest.

Residents of the deep forest consisted of more Rock‑types than Grass‑types. Rhydon were large, bipedal Pokémon with a horn on their noses. They attracted electricity just like the Electrike back in the desert. Andy was glad that he had Steve, Grovyle, and Celebi to help him.

Steve struck up a conversation with Celebi as they traveled.

"You can travel through time with this Passage of Time, right?"

"Yep," Celebi replied. "Though I can jump on short little trips by myself, if I'm going to take others or going spanning generations, I have to use the Passage of Time."

Changing the subject, Steve asked, "How long have you known Grovyle?"

"Well, we kinda ran into each other and we… we got to know each other," Celebi said in a shy tone. "I've been trying to find a way to fix this bad future for a long time now, and he found out when he tried to rescue me from capture.

"Of course, he was the one who needed rescuing, but I was happy to do it. I filled him in on what I was trying to do. I didn't want to drag him into this, but he insisted and well… we've been working together ever since."

Steve smiled warmly at her story. "That's really nice."

Celebi blushed. "Well, you know…"

The group finally arrived at a cliff at the forest edge.

"That's it! The Passage of Time!" Celebi pointed ahead.

A glowing door frame of light sat in the cliff face. Steve stared at it, finding it to be magical.

"Alright, Celebi. Do your thing," Grovyle said.

"Sure." Celebi winked and started toward the Passage.

"_That's far enough!_"

Six Sableye charged out, surrounding the group. Celebi hovered back to her companions as Steve, Andy, and Grovyle got into fighting stances.

Dusknoir hovered out, coming to a stop in front of the Passage of Time.

"Hello, everyone," he said. "Did you have fun running all this way?" The ghost chuckled. "Welcome to the end of the line."

"You found us?" Grovyle asked. "How?"

"It was simple, really. I had my Sableye tailing you the entire way. You lead me to Celebi and all of you."

Grovyle whispered, "You two." The Riolu and Pikachu edged closer to listen. "I'll take on Dusknoir myself. You and Celebi push past the Sableye and get to the Passage. I'll catch up when I can, okay?"

"Got it." Steve and Andy faced the sides, ready to fight their way through. Grovyle stepped towards Dusknoir, ready for a fight.

"Alright Dusknoir, just you and me!" Grovyle needed to keep the Ghost‑type from getting past his defenses.

Dusknoir smiled.

"Really, Grovyle. You think after last time, I didn't come prepared?"

"What?" Grovyle instantly felt dread, being reminded of what happened at Crystal Lake.

"Master Dialga! Now!" Dusknoir shouted, looking up and raising his hands into the air.

There was a thunderous roar, and darkness blanketed the entire area.

"What's happening?" Andy yelled, unable to see anything.

A single, red light shined where the Passage was, followed by another ear‑splitting roar.

When they were able to see again, Grovyle looked at the top of the cliff. He gasped upon seeing something.

Standing there was an enormous dark blue figure that resembled a four‑legged dragon. A metal plate was on its chest, a shining red gem emblazoned on it. The figure's red eyes showed nothing but primal rage.

"What is that?" Steve said, noticing the figure.

"That's… Primal Dialga…" Grovyle stared at it, all hope of escape fleeing him. "Dusknoir's brought him all this way to stop us from returning to the past… he's trumped us…"

Celebi, who had been looking smug even when they got surrounded, then looked worried.

"Alright, we surrender." Grovyle stepped forward, his arms up.

"What?" Steve glanced at Grovyle in surprise. "You're giving up, just like that?"

Grovyle glanced back. "Dusknoir is one thing, but Dialga? We don't stand a chance! You two have been working hard to get to this point. I'm sorry!" he said, feeling regret.

"No…" Celebi began.

Lowering his arms and turning to her, Grovyle said, "Don't worry. Even if we're taken out of the picture, there's still hope. You remember, right?"

Dusknoir heard and chuckled darkly.

"Oh, what's this? Final hope of yours, I assume?" he said, sounding curious.

"You don't remember, Dusknoir?" Grovyle said. "I didn't go back to the past alone the first time!"

Steve and Andy stared at Grovyle after hearing this new information.

"I had a partner then, and he's still in the past. We both vowed to each other to prevent the collapse of the tower. My partner will carry out our mission, even if I'm down and out!"

Dusknoir kept a neutral expression as he heard this, but then he grinned and started to laugh.

"Oh, Grovyle, you've failed at a key moment!" he said, before he laughed some more.

"What's so funny?" Grovyle stared at the laughing Dusknoir, confused.

"For one that is so smart to avoid me for so long, you are blind to what has been in front of you the entire time!" Dusknoir responded. "Tell me, what is the name of your partner?"

"Why would you care about his name?" Grovyle said. He felt a new dread rising, as if something he didn't want to hear was going to be said.

"What's the matter?" Dusknoir raised a hand to his chin, giving him a thoughtful look. "Can't remember it either?"

"Why would I ever forget his name?! His name is _Steve_!"

There was a cry of surprise from behind him.

"What?!" the Riolu yelled.

"Grovyle!" Andy pointed to his partner. "This is Steve right here!"

Grovyle didn't turn around. He knew of the Riolu behind him. "That's impossible! Steve isn't a Pokémon! He's a human!"

Steve gasped at the revelation. _Grovyle knows who I really am?_

"This is precisely what I speak of! You have been blind to see who he really is! That Riolu used to be human!" Dusknoir declared triumphantly.

Grovyle wanted this to be just another bluff by Dusknoir to capture him. He wanted to deny it. He wanted to disbelieve this claim. But Dusknoir wouldn't have dragged these two explorers into the future without a reason. He turned to look at the Riolu behind him, who was silently standing there, shocked to the core.

The human‑turned‑Riolu gaped at Grovyle, locking eyes with him.

"I admit, that new body had me fooled when I first met them," Dusknoir said. "I thought they were just another exploration team of the past. Then they mentioned the Dimensional Scream, and I must say, it surprised me. I got them to tell me about your little blue friend. He told me he had lost his memory, and that he only remembered his name and being a human."

"Wha... Wha..." Steve stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"He didn't know who I was due to his memory loss. I got his trust, even using him and his ability to get to you, Grovyle. After you were captured, it was just a simple matter for me to drag them here myself," Dusknoir finished, looking smug.

Grovyle turned to look at Dusknoir again, feeling completely numb.

"C'mon, Grovyle, isn't there a way out of this?" Andy asked, desperation in his voice.

"Agh," Grovyle groaned, "what can we do? The situation is hopeless…"

"We can't just _give up_!" Andy turned to their fairy companion. "Celebi! Can you create a path through time for us? A short way to the passage?"

"Yes, but it won't be easy with Dialga here; he controls time!" Celebi pointed out.

Steve quickly shook his head, snapping out of his numbness. "Just do it!" He clapped his paws together. "I'll create a distraction! Now go!"

Celebi swallowed, under pressure.

"Attack!" Dusknoir commanded and the Sableye lunged at them.

Steve held his paws back, quickly charging an Aura attack. The energy between his paws grew into a small, blue sphere.

"Aura Sphere!"

Bringing both paws forward, he threw the sphere of Aura at the ground in front of the Sableye. The small explosion was enough to disorient them.

"Okay, here I go!" Celebi flicked a hand, generating a flash.

Grovyle immediately grabbed Andy and charged for the Passage. Steve landed on his feet and followed them, Celebi right behind him. They weren't going to throw this chance away.

The four came within a foot of the Passage when the world appeared to warp. A red energy wave ripped through it, shattering their small time passage to shreds. Dialga let out a splitting roar.

"Go, go, go!" Steve shouted, urging his friends on.

Dusknoir turned, spotting them.

"Go! Jump in!" Celebi quickly projected an energy beam at the Passage. It opened to show a swirling rainbow‑colored vortex. "Save the past! Change the future!"

"Wait, what about you?" Andy yelled.

"I'll be fine! Now go!" Celebi turned around to face Dusknoir.

"Stop them!" Dusknoir bellowed, flying forward.

Grovyle, Steve, and Andy leapt into the portal and it closed, vanishing. Celebi gave Dusknoir a final, taunting smirk before she disappeared in a flash of light.

Dusknoir was left with nothing. They had escaped, when he was so close to capturing them.

"NOOOO!"


	14. Past

**Chapter 14: Past**

Steve opened his eyes, but quickly shut them when he was blinded by sunlight. He heard the sound of gentle waves washing a shore. Opening his eyes again, he saw a blue sky decorated with a few clouds. Turning to his side, he could see he was on a beach. A familiar beach. Steve stood up, stumbling a bit.

"Ugh…" Andy sat up, wiping his eyes. "Are we… are we back?"

"Looks like it, doesn't it?" Grovyle said, getting up. "There's sun, flowing water… hey, we're back."

Andy glanced around. "Hey! This is where I found Steve!" He walked over to a spot near a cluster of rocks near the local cave. "I found him passed out right here."

"Hmm… our first trip sent me into the Eastern Forest," Grovyle said. "We ended up miles from each other that first time…"

"I wanna hear a little more on how this time travel thing works," Andy said. "We should find someplace a little more private. How about Wigglytuff's Guild?"

"Excuse me," Grovyle said with a smile, "I'm still an outlaw to everyone there, remember?"

"Oh, heh, heh," Andy chuckled nervously. "I forgot…"

"You're right," Steve said. "We gotta find somewhere more private, and the guild isn't an option now."

Andy thought, until he perked up. "Wait a minute, I know a place! But we'll have to go through Treasure Town to get there."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Grovyle said. "We can sneak through."

It was a wonder how they didn't attract any attention. A Riolu, Pikachu, and Grovyle sneaking across town tended to turn some heads. They arrived at a cliff a bit beyond town. A large flag was posted there, blowing in the gentle breeze.

"We're pretty good at being sneaky," Steve remarked, glancing back. "I don't think anyone saw us."

"This is Sharpedo Bluff," Andy said to his companions. "I think it's because the cliff face looks like a Sharpedo."

Sharpedo Bluff indeed, looked like a Sharpedo, which was a shark‑like Pokémon.

Andy pulled aside several clumps of leaves and grass. To Steve and Grovyle's surprise, there was a hole in the ground with a dirt stairway going down under the foliage. Andy gestured for them to go in. They all went inside.

A spacious room with a wide opening in the cliff‑face greeted the explorers. Teeth‑like spikes of rock, pointing up and down, kept the opening secure. The back of the cave had a small fountain of water. Straw and other materials for making beds were in the corner.

Andy went to cover up the entrance from the inside and came down. He looked around the room and sighed in relief.

"Good, no one's come in here," he said. "I lived here before Steve and I joined the guild."

"I guess this is the inside of the mouth of the cliff." Grovyle glanced around the room, taking it all in. "A very suitable place. Well hidden."

"We'd better rest up here." Steve grabbed some straw and made a bed. "We've been through a lot lately."

Grovyle and Andy nodded in agreement, making their own beds.

Later that night, they struck up a conversation.

"So, Steve," Grovyle said. "You sure look different."

"Yeah, I can see that." Steve laughed.

"I found him unconscious on the beach," Andy added. "He said he was a human and didn't remember anything except for his name."

"Can you tell me about your adventures?" Grovyle asked.

Steve and Andy told him how they had met, joined the guild as Team Galaxy, and went on adventures. It took about twenty-two minutes to get to how Dusknoir had dragged them into the future. Grovyle listened silently, his attention never wavering.

When they were finally done, Grovyle sighed, a look of guilt on his face.

"You're actually the same Steve… my partner back in the future. In Crystal Cave, I had almost…"

"It's okay," Steve said with a small smile. "You were on a mission. You did what you had to do."

"So, you and Steve worked together in the future, Grovyle?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, we were searching the the locations where the Time Gears would be in the past," Grovyle replied. "Steve's Dimensional Scream was key to doing that."

"How'd you know there was a Time Gear related every time?"

"The Dimensional Scream only works under two conditions," Grovyle said. "Perhaps you don't know them?"

Andy shook his head.

"First off, it requires the presence of a trusted Pokémon partner," Grovyle explained. "Steve never had visions unless I was around."

"But he was having visions only a few days after we met!" Andy pointed out.

Grovyle quirked an eyebrow. "So? Doesn't that show how much you trusted each other from the start?"

Andy was momentarily stunned. "Well, if you put it like that, it's kind of embarrassing…"

"The two of you became fast friends..." Grovyle trailed off, looking as if he'd noticed something. He blinked and got back into the conversation.

"Anyway, as I said, the Dimensional Scream only works around a trusted partner. The second condition is that it only activates where Time Gears are involved."

"What's kinda weird is that Drowzee or the waterfall had nothing to do with Time Gears," Steve said.

Andy nodded. "Yeah, the Dimensional Scream did activate in a lot of places."

Grovyle shrugged. "Perhaps it just works differently in this time."

"That explains why I didn't get anything from that time‑frozen waterfall back in the future," Steve said.

"What did you two do?" Andy asked, regarding Steve and Grovyle.

"Steve and I traveled all over the land searching for the Time Gear locations," Grovyle said. "Steve impressed me several times when we were trying to find our way to those places. Crystal Cave, for example-"

"Those three crystals connecting?" Steve cut‑in.

"Yes, I didn't know much about Azelf, but apparently you did, and solved the problem in the end," Grovyle said, smiling fondly.

_The voice I heard... It sounded so familiar. Wait a minute..._

"That was my own voice in that Scream, wasn't it?" Steve realized.

Andy turned to him. "Really?"

"You gave yourself the answer, then." Grovyle chuckled. Then his expression turned grim. "I can't state how much I worried about you, Steve. Something happened in that time tunnel. I don't know what, but in generated a lot of turbulence, and we got separated."

He sighed, covering his face with a hand. "But I never once thought I was fighting you at any point. Steve… I'm just so glad to see you again, no matter what you look like. Again, I'm so sorry for attacking you…"

"I get it, Grovyle. It wasn't your fault!" Steve insisted. "We thought you were the bad guy. I guess we were all made fools of."

Grovyle nodded, rubbing his eyes.

"Alright, so we're all together on this?" he said. "We're going to work together to collect the Time Gears?"

"Time stopping at the places around the Time Gears is only temporary, right?" Andy asked, making sure.

"Right. When we get those Time Gears in place at the top of Temporal Tower, it should restore time to normal," Grovyle confirmed.

"Okay then. I'm in," Andy said.

"Count me in, too!" Steve raised a paw into the air.

"Then let's get some sleep," Grovyle said. "It's late, and tomorrow will be a busy day for us."

* * *

Grovyle woke up several hours later. He glanced around the room. Steve was on his side, sleeping silently. Andy's bed was empty.

_Where did Andy go?_ Grovyle thought. He glanced at the exit. _Maybe he went outside._

He carefully tip‑toed around the sleeping Riolu, then headed up the stairs.

Grovyle emerged through the hole. A cool, gentle sea breeze blew on the bluff‑top, giving the air a relaxing quality. The time was in the early hours of the morning. The sun wasn't up yet, but there was enough light to be able to see. He looked around and saw Andy standing at the point of the bluff, looking out at the sea.

Grovyle stepped up to him. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah." Andy yawned. "I was just thinking…"

"About Dusknoir?" Grovyle asked, curiosity on his face.

"Kinda. But what I'm really thinking about is that we don't value the things we see everyday enough," Andy said sadly.

"I'd known only that darkness all my life." Grovyle looked out at the sea. "When I first experienced a sun‑rise in this time, I was just… blown away. It was so beautiful."

Andy sighed. "Yeah, we take things like that for granted. They're the most precious things to us in life."

Sunlight began to shine across the land. The top of the sun peeked over the horizon, greeting the two Pokémon on the bluff. They turned around to see it rising. Andy breathed deeply, enjoying the sun's comfortable warmth.

"I don't think I've ever found a sunrise so... renewing," he said. "That trip to the future really drove it all home…"

Grovyle nodded, watching the sunrise for a while. Then he needed to ask something.

"Andy, back in the future, I had given up. I saw no way out, yet both of you held on. Tell me, how do you hold on to hope through all that?"

Andy looked at him, a bit astonished. He thought about it before answering.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure," he said. "But Steve always helped me through my troubles."

"How so?" Grovyle raised an eyebrow, his curiosity rising.

"He always seems to inspire me to do things I would never do on my own," Andy said. "I don't think I would've made it this far without him."

Andy was holding the pouch containing his Relic Fragment. He opened it and took out the rock. Holding it in his paws, he showed it to his companion. Grovyle stared at it, perplexed by the pattern engraved on the rock.

"This was my original inspiration," Andy said. "I call it my Relic Fragment. Without Steve, I would've never had chance of finding out about it since I didn't have the courage to form an exploration team back then. He's done so much for me," he finished, fondness clear in his voice.

"I think I understand," Grovyle responded. "Back in the future, I told you about not being afraid, about sometimes just going into a situation without fear of the consequences. To be honest, that's something Steve told me once."

Andy blinked in awe.

"He showed me a lot about courage and it seemed like he could just drive others to keep going even through the hardest circumstances. More than once, when we were in a tight spot, or I was facing uncertainty, he'd tell me something like that. He never failed to motivate me to keep going when time was running short for us, even if it seemed insane at the time," Grovyle said, chuckling.

After letting all that sink in, a small smile formed on Andy's face. Then he yawned again, standing up and stretching. He put the Relic Fragment back in the pouch.

"Well, it's morning," he said, raising a paw to shield his eyes from the sunlight. "We should wake up Steve and get ready to go." Andy turned around and began to walk back inside the cave.

Grovyle nodded, and glanced at the sunrise one last time.

_I hope we can succeed. We can't fail._

Then Grovyle turned to join his companions down below.

* * *

Steve was already awake when they got back to the room.

"I feel so refreshed," he said, yawning and stretching.

Grovyle nodded. "Good. We need your full strength."

"I noticed that you guys weren't here when I woke up," Steve said. "Where'd you go?"

Andy shuffled nervously. "Oh, we just went outside and talked about a few things."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't wake me up. I really needed some sleep."

"True, true," Grovyle agreed.

Andy rifled through their treasure bag and took out the wonder map. He spread it out on the floor.

"Which Time Gear do we get first?" he asked. He looked through most of the places they had been to. "How about the one in the Northern Desert? That one's the closest."

"I don't think I wanna go back there," Steve complained. "It's so hot, and there's too many sandstorms."

"How about Treeshroud Forest?" Grovyle suggested, pointing to it. "That's where I got my first gear when I came here the first time."

"Where's that?" Andy scanned the map. Grovyle pointed to a forest to the northeast, north of Mt. Horn.

"It's quite far, but there's no guardian watching over that Time Gear."

"Sounds like a plan," Steve said. "I'd rather not fight Azelf or any of them right now."

"So it's settled then." Grovyle folded up the map and handed it to Andy, who put in away in their bag.

The trio set out.

The explorers traveled for a few hours until they arrived at the forest. Since they were no longer on the run from Dusknoir and his minions, they were able to go at a steadier pace.

"Alright, we're here…" Grovyle trailed off, glancing around the forest.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked.

"It's nothing." Grovyle shook his head. "Something seemed odd but it must be my imagination. We'll go when you're ready."

Steve repacked their bag at a Kangaskhan rock before they entered the forest.

There was an abundance of Psychic‑type Pokémon in the forest. Steve took care not to get hit by any of their psychic attacks, as he was weak to them.

Ralts were Pokémon with green, dome‑shaped helmets over their head and two red horns of some sort sticking out of it. The rest of its body was white.

Abra and Kadabra were also encountered. They had yellow bodies and somewhat triangular heads. Kadabra held a spoon in their right hand.

Ninetails were fire‑type fox Pokémon with nine tails. Grovyle steered clear of them.

Steve led the way, taking out most of the enemies. Andy Quick Attacked from behind the Riolu frequently, hitting the enemy in front of him. They had definitely grown stronger during their adventures. Grovyle stayed behind the Pikachu and Riolu, assisting when needed.

They arrived at a deeper part of the forest a few hours later. It was darker, and grass was sparse on the ground. It was mostly trees and other plants around them. The trio stopped to look around.

"We're halfway there, I think," Andy said, glancing up at the tall trees above.

"Looks that way," Grovyle agreed. "If we keep going, we should get there soon."

When his two friends started to continue, Steve said, "Hold on."

Andy turned around. "What is it?"

"I need to ask you something," Steve said. He held up his right paw, and a gentle, blue energy began to envelop it. "Do you know what this is?"

"It's Aura, right?" Andy stepped closer to look. "I read about it in a book once. It's the energy that all Pokémon radiate. Riolu and Lucario are the only Pokémon who can sense it and wield it in battle. That's what I know, anyway."

Steve stared at his Aura-covered paw. "So that's what this is, huh? I somehow knew what it was called, but I didn't know what it actually does." Then the energy dissipated, leaving his paw normal. "Thanks for telling me."

"No problem," Andy said, smiling.

"Are we done with this little lesson?" Grovyle asked. "We need to get going."

"Right, sorry for the interruption." Steve and his partners marched onward.

They soon arrived at the center of the forest.

"Time… It's stopped here," Grovyle murmured.

Steve and Andy looked around, seeing his observation. The entire area was a dull grey and the air was unnaturally still.

"Uxie and his friends… they said they were gonna put back the Time Gears, didn't they?" Andy asked, feeling unsettled by the grey scenery.

"Yeah, I think they should've done that by now," Steve said.

"Maybe they just haven't done it yet?" Andy suggested hopefully.

"Only one way to find out." Grovyle walked deeper into the time-frozen area, Steve and Andy following him.

They came to a small pool with a glowing blue item hovering in the air.

"This is most definitely a Time Gear," Grovyle said, walking up to it. He didn't sound reassured from finding it.

Andy stared at a nearby tree. Dewdrops looked as if they were dropping from the leaves. One drop was falling off a leaf but the water was suspended in mid‑air.

"Then why's time stopped here? See that?" Andy pointed at the droplet suspended in the air. "What going on?"

Grovyle glanced at him, then back at the Time Gear. He grabbed it without a word.

Things instantly darkened, time coming to a complete halt in the area. Steve shivered, feeling mildly ill.

"Grovyle! What're you doing, taking the Time Gear like that?" Andy demanded. Grovyle shrugged in response.

"Time's already stopped here," he said, looking grim. "It doesn't matter what I do with the Time Gear here now. I don't like this. We need to get back to town to plan again."

"What do we do?" Steve asked.

"Andy, I want you to go around Treasure Town and listen for some information," Grovyle told him. "Once you've got the general news, return to our hiding place and let us know."

"Okay." Andy agreed and they headed back.

Steve and Grovyle snuck through town back to their hiding place while Andy went somewhere else around town.

Andy came back several minutes later.

"What's the news?" Grovyle asked.

"It's not good," Andy said grimly. "Uxie and the guardians put the Time Gears back in their spots, but time hasn't gone back to normal yet. Everyone's worried again because no one can figure out what the problem is."

Grovyle nodded slowly, his expression grave.

"What does it mean?" Steve asked.

"It means we're running out of time," Grovyle replied. "Temporal Tower must be collapsing soon."

"So what do we do now?" Andy said.

"...We're going to split up," Grovyle replied. "I'll go after the Time Gears. I can probably get it done the fastest."

"What are we gonna do?" Steve asked, regarding him and Andy.

"You two are going to need to find the Hidden Land."

"Hidden Land?" Andy repeated.

"Yes," Grovyle responded. "Temporal Tower is in the Hidden Land. But as the name indicates, it is hidden. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about how to find it or where. I wish the three of us luck. I'm moving out." He turned and headed for the exit.

"Okay. See you later," Steve said to Grovyle's leaving form.

Steve turned to his partner. "Alright, so we need to find the hidden land."

An awkward silence followed.

"Uh… where do we start looking for it?" Andy said.

Steve rubbed the back of his neck, not coming up with any ideas.

"...How about the beach?" he suggested.

"Alright." Andy shrugged and headed out, Steve following.

They sneaked through town and arrived at the beach. The sun was low in the sky, near the horizon. The beach was empty except for themselves.

"We're at the beach," Andy said, looking out at the ocean.

"Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious."

"This isn't the time for joking around!" Andy said. "We need to find this place, and fast!" Desperation was edging into his voice.

_We can't do this alone. We need some help._

"Andy, let's go to Wigglytuff's Guild," Steve said.

"What?" Andy turned to his partner, surprised by the suggestion. "Why the guild?"

"I think everyone should know the truth," Steve replied.

"I don't know if anyone would believe us." Andy looked doubtful. "I mean, it took a lot from Grovyle just to convince us, and everyone else respects Dusknoir…" He trailed off.

"Let's tell them anyway," Steve insisted.

"But why should we even bother-"

"_Because we can't do this alone!_" Steve shouted. "_We need everyone's help for this!_"

Andy took a step back, staring at Steve in surprise.

"After all, we're just two explorers. We need help." Steve put his two paws on Andy's shoulders. "We can't do this alone, buddy."

Andy blinked, a bit stunned. Then he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right."

"Okay then." Steve lowered his arms to his sides. "We gonna go back to Wigglytuff's Guild?"

"Yeah!" Andy pumped his paw into the air. "We're gonna tell them the truth! Even if they don't don't believe it!"

"We'll make them believe us if we have to!" Steve laughed, and the two of them headed for the guild.


	15. Chosen

**Chapter 15: Chosen**

Team Galaxy stood in front of the guild entrance, which had the metal gate covering it as usual.

"We're here," Steve said. "Man, it feels like just yesterday that we were here."

"Yeah," Andy agreed. "But we just disappeared on everyone that day. I wonder what everyone's gonna think."

"Okay, I'm going in." Steve stepped onto the grate. Familiar voices shouted below and he waited calmly as Diglett analyzed his footprint. When Diglett identified the Riolu, his voice quivered.

"T-The f-footprint is… t-thats…"

"Diglett! Respond! HEY! Where do ya think you're GOING?" Loudred roared below. Many voices were talking down in the guild, until they all let out a bewildered "WHAT?" from what sounded like all the guild members.

Diglett emerged from the ground a moment later near the guild entrance.

"Steve!" he yelled excitedly. "Andy too! _They're back_!" Diglett looked overjoyed to see them.

The guild gate rose and everyone from the guild came pouring out.

"WHERE have you two BEEN?"

"We were so worried about you!"

"Oh my gosh! Are you two alright?"

"Golly, you guys are really back…"

"We're back, guys!" Steve announced loudly.

The Guildmaster stepped out and the crowd parted, letting him through.

"Steve, Andy… welcome home," Wigglytuff said calmly, but appearing just as happy as always.

Team Galaxy and the guild met on the second floor of the guild.

"The two of you disappeared on that day!" Chatot said, looking quite overjoyed to see the two apprentices. "But now you have returned! Please tell us what happened!"

The two explorers began telling their story at the same time.

"Stop!" Chatot yelled, raising a wing. The Riolu and Pikachu stopped their blabbering. "One at a time, please."

Steve and Andy, one at a time, told the story about their time in the future, how Grovyle was a good guy and Dusknoir was actually a bad guy, and how they were trying to get the Time Gears and find the hidden land.

"Just a minute," Chatot interrupted. "Let me get this straight, according to you, Dusknoir isn't the benevolent, good Pokémon we thought he was. In actuality, he is a bad Pokémon bent on stopping you because you're all trying to prevent time from stopping, am I correct?"

Steve nodded in response.

"And Grovyle isn't a criminal set on destroying the world, but is a hero trying to prevent it," Chatot said. "Now he's returned and is attempting to collect the Time Gears again?"

"That's right," Andy confirmed.

"Now you're saying you need to find a place called the 'Hidden Land' so you can find this 'Temporal Tower' where you will set the gears in place to prevent time from stopping." Chatot fluttered in the air for a second, before coming down. "Is that the entirety of your story?"

Steve and Andy both nodded. They had been pretty clear in their explanation.

Chatot laughed.

"Come on, now. I have never heard of this 'Hidden Land'. I'm not the head of intelligence here at the guild for nothing, you know."

"We aren't lying," Steve insisted.

"Grovyle was stealing Time Gears! How can we trust him? How can we be sure he's not lying as well?"

"I…" Andy began, but couldn't find the words to say in response.

"See? Your story is so absurd that no one is going to believe it!"

"Um, I believe them," Bidoof spoke up hesitantly. Chatot looked at him, astonished.

"Excuse me? You believe them? That Dusknoir is a villain?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to think of the Great Dusknoir like that." Bidoof looked uncomfortable as everyone was staring at him. "But if I'm gonna put anyone first, it's my guild friends!" he said determinedly.

"To be honest, I'm more than willing to believe them." Sunflora blushed as she said this.

"It does sound a bit CRAZY," Loudred said, "but I'm gonna believe their story too!"

The other apprentices spoke up one‑by‑one, that they all agreed Team Galaxy and their story.

Steve was touched. He could hardly believe everyone was willing to stand up for him and Andy. Andy was overjoyed to see that everyone was on their side.

Wigglytuff stepped forward.

"Yay! Looks like we all agree!" he cheered.

"Hold on, Guildmaster," Loudred cut‑in. "I think there's still SOMEONE who doesn't believe them."

All pairs of eyes turned to Chatot.

Wigglytuff smiled brightly. "Chatot believed them the whole time. Isn't that right, Chatot?"

Chatot covered his face with a wing, chuckling to himself.

"There's no fooling you, is there, Guildmaster?" he said, lowering his wing, revealing a big grin on his face.

"Yes, I believed them from the start."

"Oh really…" Steve rolled his eyes. Chatot was a pretty good actor if he led them to think that he didn't believe his and Andy's story.

"If I had just said as much from the start, I'm sure you all would have just gone with me," Chatot explained. "I wanted to test your friendship; how much you all trust each other. I can see now that you two, Team Galaxy, are well‑trusted."

Wigglytuff nodded and turned to Steve and Andy.

"Steve, Andy… no matter what happens, I know I can trust you two. You can always come to us for help," he said gently.

"Thank you," Andy said. The Guildmaster turned to the rest of the guild.

"Alright, everyone, we know what's been happening that our our world is in danger. So we're all going to work together to find the Hidden Land!" he announced.

"Oh my gosh, someone should tell Uxie and his friends about this or they might try to stop Grovyle!" Sunflora squealed. She and Corphish volunteered for the task.

The others were abuzz about where to look for the hidden land.

Wigglytuff approached Steve and Andy.

"I don't know anything about the Hidden Land, but you should try asking Torkoal."

"Torkoal?" Steve replied. "Sounds familiar."

Chatot hopped over to them.

"Torkoal is the town elder," he said. "He likes to relax at the Hot Spring. In fact, I'm positive that's where you'll find him."

"Oh yeah, that nice, old Pokémon," Andy said fondly, remembering. "He was so nice to us when we first dropped into the Hot Spring."

"I hope he knows something about the Hidden Land," Steve murmured.

There was a growling noise and the two apprentices exchanged glances. Then they burst into laughter.

"That was our bellies!" Andy laughed. "We haven't eaten anything in a while!"

"Guess we forgot!" Steve rubbed his belly.

Chimecho floated up to them. "Hey, you guys should get some dinner and rest up! You must be starving after all you've been through! I'll fix up a nice, big meal for the both of you!" Chimecho hovered into the mess hall.

Everyone headed to the mess hall to have dinner. After that they went to bed, the task for tomorrow never leaving their minds.

"We'll find the Hidden Land," Steve said to himself.

He fell asleep, dreaming about time and futures.

The next morning, the guild had its usual meeting.

"Okay," Chatot said, reviewing the tasks. "Some of you are going to ask around town about the Hidden Land, while others are going to explore local areas for clues."

"And we're gonna go ask Torkoal about the Hidden Land," Steve added, Andy nodding in agreement.

Taking a look at their wonder map, they noted where the Hot Spring was, and headed out. It was quite a long walk to the spring, but they had a job to do.

They arrived at the Hot Spring after several minutes of walking. There weren't many Pokémon there that time. Torkoal was in his usual spot, perched on the rocks of the spring. He smiled when he saw the two apprentices.

"Come to enjoy the hot spring again, my young friends?" he said.

"Actually, we wanted to ask you something," Steve said.

"Well then, go ahead, I'm listening," Torkoal replied, his curiosity rising.

"We were wondering if you knew anything about a place called the Hidden Land," Andy said.

Torkoal collected his thoughts for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, I know about the stories of that place. It's only a legend and mind you, it's very old and only has been passed along by words and stories alone so I likely do not know everything about it."

"Anything that can help us," Steve said, happy that they had a source of information.

"Well," Torkoal began, "it is said that the Hidden Land is found in a faraway place. It can only be found by those who are chosen. Where that might be, I do not know but I do know that in order to get there, one must be one of those chosen."

"How do you know if you're chosen?" Andy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Torkoal frowned, looking off to the side, trying to remember.

"Err… what was it again?" he mumbled to himself.

His expression brightened and smoke erupted from the top of his shell. He glanced at the apprentices again.

"Yes, you need proof to show that you are chosen!" he said confidently.

"What kind of proof?" Andy asked the obvious question.

Torkoal took a minute to remember, smoke shooting out of his shell. But he couldn't, and shook his head.

"My apologies… I've forgotten," he said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

"It's okay," Steve said. "At least we got what we needed."

"We need proof of some kind to get to the Hidden Land, so that's a start," Andy added.

"If there's anything you'd like to know, please don't hesitate to ask." Torkoal smiled at them warmly.

"Let's go back to the guild," Steve said to his partner, and they left the Hot Spring.

Team Galaxy returned to the guild, where they received disappointing news.

"No one found anything about the Hidden Land?" Andy said sadly.

The guild members glanced at one another, shaking their heads. Team Galaxy shared what they had learned from Torkoal.

"At least we know one more thing about the Hidden Land," Wigglytuff replied. "That's better than nothing!"

"Oh, but we're running out of time," Andy said, downcast.

"We'll call it a day today and continue our search tomorrow," Chatot said. "I'm sure we'll find something."

The guild had dinner and went to bed.

After the morning meeting the next day, Loudred and Diglett announced that Torkoal was at the guild entrance. The old turtle was breathing hard when he climbed in, smoke spewing from his shell.

"Whew… those steps… up to the guild… are _hard_ on these old bones of mine," he groaned.

"Torkoal, did you remember something?" Andy asked, the possible reason why he had visited occurring to him.

"Yes…" Torkoal huffed, "but I'm afraid… it's something small."

Wigglytuff's eyes lit up.

"Anything you know would be helpful! Please, tell us! Tell us!" he said excitedly.

"I'm afraid it really is quite small," Torkoal said. "I was thinking over what we had talked about and I remembered as I was staring at the water. You remember I said that you need proof to enter the Hidden Land, correct?"

"Yeah." Steve nodded.

"Well, that proof has a pattern on it," Torkoal said. "I'm sure if I saw the pattern, I'd know it. However, it's so intricate and unique, that I can't find the right words to describe it."

"An intricate and UNIQUE pattern?" Loudred said, puzzled. "You'd think ANYONE could think of a pattern like that…"

"It doesn't sound easy, though," Sunflora commented.

Steve crossed his arms, contemplating the new information.

_A pattern that's intricate and unique, _he thought. _It sounds like I've heard of or seen something like that before… Wait a minute!_

"I got it!" Steve turned to his partner, his eyes brightening. "Andy, it's your Relic Fragment!"

Andy tilted his head in confusion, until he gasped, realizing what his partner was getting at. He pulled out his pouch, opening it up and taking out the rock. He set it down on the floor.

"Torkoal, sir, is this the pattern?" he asked.

Torkoal stared at the rock for a few moments, before blinking in astonishment.

"Why, this is it!" he exclaimed. "This is the pattern! I'm sure of it!"

"So we're chosen to go to the Hidden Land?" Steve said, surprised. Wigglytuff, meanwhile, stepped closer and glanced down at the pattern, Chatot as well. Torkoal looked confused.

"Whether or not you can go to the Hidden Land, I wouldn't know, but why are you so interested anyways?" he said. "It's only a story after all. You're not actually searching for the Hidden Land, are you?"

"Yep, we are," Wigglytuff replied. Torkoal blinked again, stunned.

"My, my," he murmured, "I never thought for a moment…"

"We've seen this pattern before, haven't we, Chatot?" Wigglytuff pointed at the rock.

"Yes," Chatot responded, sounding a little nervous. "At Brine Cave, but Guildmaster, wasn't that where-"

"I know. That vicious Pokémon was there," Wigglytuff said, sounding serious for once.

All the apprentices were surprised that their two leaders knew of the pattern.

"Alright, everyone, we'll prepare for Brine Cave today and go tomorrow. We'll need to be well prepared for the cave," Chatot announced.

"Oh, my, you've even gotten me excited!" Torkoal laughed heartedly. "I can scarcely remember the last time I was so excited. It reminds me of the days when I was always thinking of adventure. I've gotten so old that I've lost my shine for those things. It's quite sad, really…" he said, shaking his head. He turned and went for the exit in high spirits.

"Thanks for the information, Torkoal!" Andy called after him.

"No problem!" Torkoal said, laughing, climbing his way up and out of the guild.

Everyone headed out as well to prepare for their trip to Brine Cave. Wigglytuff and Chatot began discussing something when they left.

"Guildmaster, I can handle it now! Please take me to Brine Cave!" Chatot pleaded.

"Nope, I can't risk that happening to you again." Wigglytuff shook his head, sounding concerned. "Besides, I've got something else to do, so you'll all be going without me tomorrow," he said. "That's why I want you with Team Galaxy if you're insisting on going."

"Alright." Chatot sighed in defeat. "I'll with Steve and Andy."

Team Galaxy went to town, arranging items in their bag and depositing their money.

"Hey, Steve?" Andy said. His partner looked at him.

"What is it?"

"I want to go back to our hideout," Andy said, "see if Grovyle's come back."

Steve nodded. The two of them left the town square.

They headed to the Bluff and went inside the cave. There was no one there, though. A note had been pinned to the ground with a rock to keep the wind from blowing the paper away.

"This note must be from Grovyle." Andy picked it up and began to read.

_Dear Steve and Andy,_

_I gotten two more time gears now. I met Uxie and he told me you gotten everyone to trust us now. This is very encouraging however I will hide for now. Can't be sure everyone trusts me. Dusknoir will also probably come back too._

Andy grimaced at the mention of Dusknoir in the note.

"I almost forgot about him," he said. "I wouldn't put it past him to come after us…" Andy continued reading.

_I should have the remaining time gears soon. If we need to meet find me either here at the cave or the beach. I hope to see you soon. Together we will stop the collapse of Temporal Tower._

_Grovyle_

"He sure wrote this in a hurry." Steve noted the sloppy handwriting.

"Hmm… if he's not here, maybe he's at the beach," Andy suggested. They nodded in agreement and headed outside.

No one was on the beach when they arrived. It was already getting late and the sun was sinking into the horizon.

"Grovyle's not here." Steve looked around, disappointed.

"Aw, I thought for sure he'd be here," Andy said, disappointed. "Where is he?"

"I don't know, Andy. I hope he's okay." Steve went silent, looking at the sunset. "Wow, that's so pretty."

Andy followed his friend's gaze at the scene. "Weird… it's a nice evening, but the Krabby aren't out blowing bubbles," he commented, glancing around and not seeing any of the bubble‑blowing crabs.

The Pikachu took out his Relic Fragment and looked at it.

"My Relic Fragment started our team and now we're gonna use it to go to the Hidden Land," he said. "It's amazing..."

Steve chuckled a bit, before noticing something. A silhouette lit against the sun was swimming silently across the oceanic horizon. It vanished after several seconds.

"What was that?" he said to himself.

"Hey, we better get back to the guild now," Andy said.

"Huh?" Steve looked up, jolted out of this thoughts. "Oh, right. Let's go."

Back at the guild, they found that the Guildmaster had left. Chatot spoke to them as they came in.

"Tomorrow, the two of you will be travelling with me when we go to Brine Cave," he said. "I expect both of you not to slow me down, understood?"

"Understood." Steve nodded in response.

The guild had dinner and went to bed.

The next day at their morning meeting, the Guildmaster was not present.

"Where's the Guildmaster?" Steve asked.

"The Guildmaster has his own business to attend to," Chatot replied.

"Oh." Steve glanced around at his fellow guild members before looking back at Chatot. "What are we doing today?"

"Well, today, we're heading for Brine Cave," Chatot said. The bird looked over the group. "I trust all of you are prepared?"

"We're ready," Andy responded on behalf of the guild.

"And, since the Guildmaster isn't coming with us, you will have me!" Chatot announced proudly.

"Um, yay?" Steve deadpanned. An awkward silence after that. Chatot looked at the apprentices, stunned.

"What? Do you doubt my ability to lead?" he said. "Am I… a bad leader to all of you?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that…" Bidoof said uneasily.

"It just doesn't feel SAFE without the Guildmaster," Loudred said.

Steve could sense the nervousness in everyone from Wigglytuff's absence.

"Hey, just because Wigglytuff isn't here, doesn't mean we should be worried!" he said.

"He's right!" Sunflora agreed. "We can't rely on the Guildmaster for everything!"

"Chatot!" Steve called to him. "We need you to lead us!"

Chatot looked a little startled at being addressed like this.

"Me?" He raised a wing, pointing at himself.

"Without Wigglytuff here, we only have you, Chatot," Sunflora said, encouraging him. "Lead us."

Chatot was silent, looking abashed under the burden of leadership.

"HEY!" Loudred roared. "Are we gonna GO?"

"I'm getting there!" Chatot straightened up, flapping his wings. He stopped and cleared his throat. "Now then everyone, let us all excel together!"

"Yay!" Steve and Andy cheered.

"HOORAY!" went the rest of the guild, and they finally headed out.


	16. Pattern

**Chapter 16: Pattern**

The entire guild arrived at Brine Cave. Sea‑spray was thick in the air and also tangled heavily with a salty taste.

"This is Brine Cave," Chatot announced, turning to his fellow guild members. "It was where the Guildmaster and myself saw the pattern on Andy's Relic Fragment. "It should be in the deepest part of the cavern, but it is also where that vicious Pokémon appeared."

"Um… what kind if Pokémon was it?" Bidoof questioned.

"I'm afraid I can't remember," Chatot replied. "The first time we came here, they took us by surprise. As much as I hate to admit it, I was knocked out immediately and when I woke up, the Guildmaster was tending to my wounds. I never saw my attackers."

"Wait a second," Andy said in confusion, "I thought you said there's a vicious Pokémon, but you also just said that _they_ took you and the Guildmaster by surprise."

"There was one vicious Pokémon, but he wasn't alone," Chatot said. "We'll need to be careful; there are many water‑type Pokémon in Brine Cave."

The apprentices exchanged glances with each other. They were nervous about the mystery Pokémon, but at least Chatot had given them a heads‑up on what to expect in the cave.

"At any rate, we need to get moving." Chatot broke everyone out of their thoughts. "You may all group up as you wish, but Team Galaxy will travel with me. Understood?"

Everyone nodded and headed in, splitting up into their own groups. Chatot went with Steve and Andy, as planned.

A majority of the Pokémon in the cave were water‑types, as Chatot pointed out earlier.

Seel, which were aquatic seals, had many ice‑type attacks. One such attack was generating several small shards of ice and launching them at the group.

Kingler were the evolved forms of Crabby. One was about to attack Chatot from behind, but Andy pointed it out to him. The parrot turned and hopped over its claws. He pecked the large crab a few times, and it went down.

"You two honestly can't expect me to do all the work," Chatot said, shining with confidence.

"I pointed it out to you, y'know," Andy mumbled.

Omanyte were small, blue octopus Pokémon with a spiral, snail‑like shell. The group took them out with little to no trouble.

They soon reached a waypoint.

Looking around, Chatot said, "This looks to be about half way-"

He was cut off by a familiar trio suddenly charging in and slamming both Steve and Andy, knocking them both down. The trio stole Andy's Relic Fragment as well.

Team Skull was back.

"Whoops! Excuuuse me," Koffing said with no guilt.

"You three?" Steve said, getting back on his feet.

Skuntank pocketed the Fragment, chuckling.

"That old‑timer mentioned something about a Hidden Land and we did a little… interrogating. Never thought your little personal treasure would be the key."

Chatot looked surprised to see them as well, but then his expression was replaced by one of relief.

"Where have you been?" he asked the trio. "Ever since the Lake, I've been worried about your well‑being."

"What? You're still falling for that?" Koffing responded incredulously.

Chatot looked utterly confused. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Chatot," Steve said, "those guys are a bunch of crooks."

"You'd have to be an idiot to not realize that by now," Zubat commented.

"Well, later boys, we're off to discover the Hidden Land!" Skuntank shouted. He and his lackeys barreled through, knocking Steve and Andy sprawling to the sides.

Chatot stood in a stunned silence for several seconds, before his temper flared. He fluttered in place with rage.

"W-w-what? Take me for a fool, will they? I'll show them a thing or two!" He rushed after Team Skull before Steve or Andy could say anything.

"Hey!" Andy yelled after him, but Chatot had disappeared deeper into Brine Cave.

"C'mon, we've gotta go after him!" Steve shouted, helping Andy to his feet. They quickly ran after Chatot.

It had been several minutes since Chatot chased after Team Skull. Steve and Andy couldn't find him, so they just continued deeper in the cave. They hoped to run into him sooner or later.

The Pokémon around there became tougher. They started running into Dewgong instead of smaller Seel. An attack from one was creating an ice crystal at Steve's feet. Luckily he jumped out of the way in time, leaping into the air and shooting an Aura Sphere at it. The Dewgong fainted.

Dragonair were encountered, which were long, serpentine dragon‑types. Steve dashed up to one, using Force Palm, but the dragon swatted him away with its tail. Andy stepped up, shooting his electricity, making it faint.

"Whew…" Steve wiped sweat off his forehead. "Chatot should be just ahead, I think."

"Right." Andy nodded, and they rushed forward.

They were surprised to find Team Skull on the ground when they came into a room. Skuntank lay on his side, clutching his chest with his forelegs. Koffing and Zubat both lay flat on their backs.

"Whoa," Steve said as he looked over them. "Did you guys get ambushed by a group of Pokémon?"

"You knew that was coming?" Koffing chuckled, wincing. "Woulda been good to know…"

"Not that you would've told us..." Zubat grunted, also chuckling weakly.

"Are you okay?" Andy said, concern rising for them. He couldn't help but be worried that Skuntank's wounds were fatal. Large gashes were present across his body.

"You've got us at your mercy," Skuntank said, opening one eye. "You're worried about how we are? How sickeningly caring can you two get?"

"Pfft." Steve crossed his arms, looking away. "We don't care about you at all, you losers."

"Steve! That's not a very nice thing to say!" Andy scolded his partner.

Steve shrugged. "Where's Chatot?" he asked, changing the subject.

"He passed through here, though he stopped when he saw us like this," Skuntank replied. "He took that opportunity to call our team a whole lot of choice words, heh, heh."

"That's just awful," Andy said. "But I don't think he'd just leave you like this, no matter what you'd done."

"You two… went through some downright hard times thanks to us." Skuntank glanced at them again. "And yet you're still going to care about our well‑being?" he said, sounding almost… touched.

"It's not like I've forgotten what you've done," Andy admitted, "but when I see you down and out like this, I just can't ignore it."

Skuntank remained silent for several moments, before a smile cracked across his face. Chuckling softly, he rested his head on the ground. Then he flicked one of his forelegs, and the Relic Fragment fell to the ground at Andy's feet.

"Oops," Skuntank said, "how unlike me, I dropped the Relic Fragment and now that Pikachu is gonna take it back…"

Steve chuckled at the lame and obvious act. He couldn't help but smile at Skuntank's rare show of subtle gratitude.

"Skuntank…" Andy murmured, then smiled. "Thanks."

"What are you thanking me for?" Skuntank said. "I just dropped it, that's all. You're free to take it. We'll be fine. It's Chatot you should be worried about."

Andy picked up his Relic Fragment as Steve asked, "Where'd he go?"

"He should be just ahead," Skuntank replied. "He was chasing after those Pokémon who ambushed us."

"Okay. Hang in there and get out safely, Team Skull," Andy said.

"Just so you know, when we meet again, we'll be back to messing with you," Skuntank said.

"Oh, we can't wait." Steve rolled his eyes. He and his partner dashed ahead to meet up with Chatot.

They reached a room with several rock walls surrounding them.

"Chatot!" Steve called out to the bird as they spotted him.

"You two, be careful!" Chatot warned, looking around in high alert.

"What's going on?" Andy asked.

"The vicious Pokémon is around here somewhere," Chatot said.

Steve and Andy cautiously approached Chatot, coming to a halt in front of him.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone here," Andy said, glancing around.

Steve shut his eyes, focusing his Aura vision. He saw his partners' blue outlines in the blackness in front of him. He turned his gaze upwards.

On the ceiling were three red outlines.

"Watch out! They're above us!" Steve yelled, opening his eyes.

Andy and Chatot quickly looked up, gasping as three figures dropped down from the ceiling, landing with a smash.

"I'm Kabutops!" the one in the center shouted. He stood on two legs, had a triangular head, and had large scythes on his arms.

"And the Omastar Brothers!" the two flanking him added in unison. They were the evolved form of Omanyte, being bigger with spiked shells.

"Trespassers need to be taught a lesson!" Kabutops snapped. "Take this!" He lunged at Steve and Andy, who were two surprised at their sudden appearance to react.

"No!" Chatot yelled.

Andy yelped as the attack came towards him and his partner. But the attack struck someone else. Someone whose feathers were scattering across Steve and Andy.

Chatot had shielded the two apprentices with his body. He now had many gashes on his body, similar to Skuntank's injuries from earlier.

"Oh." Kabutops grinned. "That guy shielded them with his body. That ain't too smart."

One of the Omastar brothers blinked. "Hey, I recognize this guy! He did the same thing the last time we met!"

Kabutops laughed. "He did! Must be an idiot if he didn't learn his lesson the first time."

"I won't… let you lay a claw on them," Chatot said defiantly. "They're our prized recruits…" Then he collapsed, unconscious.

"That's one down. Now it's your turn," Kabutops said, turning to the two apprentices.

"Give it your best shot!" Steve taunted, smacking his paws together.

"Attack!" Kabutops ordered the Omastar brothers and the two leapt into the air, lunging towards the Riolu.

Steve jumped up to meet them midair. Smirking, he twirled with his arms outstretched, his paws lit with Aura. Both Omastars were knocked down by his spin attack.

"Hang on, Chatot." Andy dragged the unconscious bird to a corner. "We'll beat these guys." Andy ran to join the fight.

"Eat this!" Kabutops yelled, jumping towards the falling Riolu with his scythes aimed for him.

"No, you don't!" Andy shouted, intercepting with a Quick Attack, knocking Kabutops off course.

"Augh!" he grunted, missing his target.

"My turn!" Steve dashed towards the falling Kabutops and leapt, his arm pulled back.

"Force Palm!"

Steve delivered a satisfying palm strike to Kabutops's face. The enemy flew clear across the room from the impact, smashing into the rock wall.

"Ooh," Kabutops groaned in pain.

"You want some too?" Steve snarled at the Omastar brothers, who cowered under his glare. Then they ran away, screaming. Kabutops quickly scrambled to his feet and ran away with them.

"Whew!" Steve let out a breath, tuckered out from the battle. "That was a doozy."

"That. Was. Awesome!" Andy hopped up and down like an excited kid.

"I got him right in the face," Steve said cooly, high‑fiving his partner.

"Chatot!" The Guildmaster's voice echoed through the room. He came running, teary eyed, as Chatot was waking up.

"What… happened?" he said sleepily.

"Chatot! Are you okay?" Wigglytuff asked, his tone laced with concern.

"I'm fine," Chatot responded. "I'm hale and hearty as you can see."

Grovyle came in a moment later, having followed Wigglytuff.

The rest of the guild piled into the room several seconds later. They were shocked to see Grovyle but even more shocked to see Chatot's condition.

Wigglytuff was still focused on Chatot.

"Chatot, you probably don't remember, but the last time we were here, you shielded me from those three Pokémon."

"I... did?"

"Yes. I would've been done for if it weren't for you. You're… you're my irreplaceable partner, Chatot. I don't wanna to lose you," the Guildmaster said, close to crying.

Chatot smiled.

"I feel honored to hear those words… from you, Guildmaster. I'm such… a happy Pokémon…" He passed out again, flopping to the ground.

Gasping in unison, the guild members started forward, but Grovyle held out an arm, holding them back. He quickly studied the parrot's wounds.

"He can be saved, but only if you bring him back to the guild in time," he said urgently, looking up at them.

"Then let's go back to the guild!" Andy said.

"No." Wigglytuff had an expression he rarely showed. "You three: Grovyle, Steve, and Andy… you need to keep going ahead. We'll take Chatot back to the guild. You're the only ones who can go to the Hidden Land."

"What about-" Andy began, but was silenced by Steve.

"We understand, Guildmaster," he said to Wigglytuff.

"We need to keep going," Grovyle added. "We don't have time to go back to the guild now."

"But… but…" Andy stammered.

"Go. You're the only ones who can do it. If you don't, Chatot's actions would've been for nothing," Wigglytuff said.

Grovyle and Steve went to go deeper into the cave, Andy reluctantly following them. They glanced back at the guild members one last time.

"We'll be seeing you…" Andy said to them.

"Bye," Wigglytuff replied.

Steve, Andy, and Grovyle exchanged glances, nodding. They headed into the back of the cave.

"So, how'd you find us, Grovyle?" Andy asked him as they walked.

"Wigglytuff found me. I was coming to find you anyways," Grovyle responded.

"Did you find all the Time Gears?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. Saw what you did back there by the way. We arrived just in time to see what happened to Chatot… you never cease to amaze me, Steve," Grovyle said, shaking his head in disbelief. Steve laughed in response.

They came to an opening in the cave. Sea water ebbed up and down along the left wall, and sunlight shined through from that direction. Andy went up to the opening, looking outside to see an orange sky.

"Wow, time's really flown by while we were in there," he said.

Steve stared out at the sunset, before turning his gaze towards the wall on the right. A large, circular and intricate pattern was on the wall. It appeared to be an extension of the pattern found on the Relic Fragment.

"Hey, Grovyle, Andy. Take a look at this," he said, and they came up. Andy stared at the pattern, recognizing it after a moment.

"It looks just like the one on my Relic Fragment." Andy took out his treasure to compare them. The Fragment suddenly glowed, causing him to yelp and drop it. The rock began pulsing with a soft, blue light. Several seconds later, the pattern on the wall also pulsed with the same light in sync with the Relic Fragment.

"Are they responding to each other?" Steve asked, before the wall pattern shined with a blinding light. They all looked away as a single beam of light shot out across the water like a laser. Both patterns stopped glowing.

"What was that all about?" Andy said, putting away his Fragment.

"Look! There's something coming!" Steve said, pointing outside.

A dark shape was coming to them, as if summoned by the ray of light. The figure arrived and quietly swam into the cave through the opening. The Pokémon was primarily blue in color and had a grey shell on its back. It had a long neck with a white throat and a smooth head with calm, gentle eyes.

"Greetings," she said. "I am Lapras. I will take you to the Hidden Land."

"You will?" Steve asked, a bit stunned. His partner shared the same expression.

"The ray of light was the sign that you are chosen to go to the Hidden Land," Lapras said. "I have been waiting for you."

They approached her and she turned to show her back to them. They carefully climbed onto her rather small shell. Grovyle sat near the base of her neck while Steve and Andy settled down behind him. Once they were settled in, Lapras swam outside across the ocean.

The ride was incredibly gentle. Lapras was stable even when the ocean became turbulent. The passengers were never in any danger of falling off or getting knocked off.

It was a long ride and night fell as Lapras swam. Andy spoke to her, breaking the relative silence of the ride.

"So, you knew we were coming?" he asked.

Lapras glanced back. "Yes. Wigglytuff told me about you."

This surprised the team a bit. Grovyle became more interested in the conversation.

"You know Wigglytuff?" he asked. Lapras nodded.

"Some years back, Wigglytuff came exploring Brine Cave with Chatot, as you may know," she said. "I witnessed everything that happened and I hadn't planned on revealing myself to them. But when Chatot was badly hurt, Wigglytuff panicked and wasn't sure what to do. I had to help."

"That's cool," Steve said. It was a heartwarming story to hear. He realized all of them had similar relationships to each other. Wigglytuff cared for Chatot as much as Steve cared for Andy. After all they'd been through, Steve was sure Andy felt the same way about him.

"I helped them get back to safety and I made a deal with Wigglytuff," Lapras continued. "I couldn't be sure if they were just honest explorers or Pokémon with greedy intentions. So I asked Wigglytuff to never tell anyone about the pattern in Brine Cave, to keep it secret. He agreed to it quickly, and I think he was happy to honor it."

Steve and Andy were completely captivated by the story.

"Wigglytuff met me last night. He told me about the two of you and about Grovyle. He said that he couldn't keep his promise anymore. I understood though, and I know why you are going to the Hidden Land."

"Where is the Hidden Land anyways?" Steve asked.

"It's slightly hard to explain," Lapras replied. "But Dialga was concerned about wicked entities invading the Hidden Land, so he hid it in the space between two halves of a second."

The three passengers were astonished at this news.

"No wonder no one's ever found it before," Grovyle murmured. "There's no way to get to someplace like that."

"No, that's not true," Lapras corrected. "Dialga left one way there; the key‑stone you call the Relic Fragment. It is the key to accessing the Hidden Land."

Steve nodded. All that information was a lot to take in. He yawned, exhausted from the long day. It was getting late. Noticing this, Lapras laughed softly.

"Go ahead and rest," she said. "You will need your sleep for what lies ahead."

Steve and Andy lay down across the shell, falling asleep almost instantly. Grovyle soon dozed off as well.

Steve, Andy, and Grovyle awoke to daylight.

"It must've been a long night." Andy yawned as he sat up. "Are you okay, Lapras?" he asked her.

"I am fine, Andy." Lapras smiled. "I can swim for very long periods of time without rest. And we are almost there now."

The three looked past her neck in front of them. There wasn't anything.

"You see where the water appears to be ripping?" Lapras asked.

Steve glanced down at the water ahead of them, noticing the water and the air above it seemed to be bending in various ways.

"It looks all distorted," he commented.

"That's the pathway to the Hidden Land," Lapras said, continuing towards it. "Here we go."

Lapras stopped swimming and shortly started to move forward without any effort. She sped up, traveling faster and faster. Then she slowly lifted out of the water entirely, rushing over it.

"Whoa! Lapras is flying!" Andy exclaimed.

Grovyle looked around and shook his head.

"No, this isn't flying. We're crossing the sea of time!"

After a minute of "flying", there was a flash, and what the three passenger Pokémon saw made their mouths hang open.

Before them lay a large island that was floating in the air. Forest covered the land and in the sky above it, were collections of hovering rocks. At the top of those rocks was a dark blue tower with dark red clouds swirling around the top.

"Is that-?" Andy began, looking over the island before them.

"Yes… this is the Hidden Land," Lapras said.

"That must be Temporal Tower." Steve pointed to the tower in the distance.

Andy glanced at the distant tower and frowned. "How are we supposed to get to it?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I can only get you to the edge of the Hidden Land. To get to Temporal Tower, you will have to find the Rainbow Stoneship," she replied.

"Rainbow… Stoneship?" Steve echoed.

"It is somewhere in the Hidden Land. I'm sure you can find it," Lapras said as she approached a part of the land. She came to a halt at the edge. The trio of explorers carefully disembarked, making sure not to fall off.

"Thanks for the ride, Lapras," Andy said to her.

Lapras nodded in response. "I will remain here for when you wish to return," she said.

"Alright! We made it!" Steve said to his partners. "We don't have far to go now."

"Yes," Grovyle agreed. "We can't give up now. Let's save time," he said calmly.

"Let's go!" Andy said, and the three of them set out to explore the Hidden Land.


	17. Sky

**Chapter 17: Sky**

The Hidden Land was a beautiful place. Gardens of flowers grew with a multitude of colors, like a rainbow. Small ponds and lakes were scattered throughout the land, and the flower gardens decorated them with utmost beauty. Steve, Andy, and Grovyle traveled across plains of grass, stretching far as the eye could see. The trio occasionally had to go through some woods, and cross a few rivers, nothing they couldn't handle.

"Wow, this place is really pretty!" Andy said, his eyes wide with wonder. He slowly spun in place, taking in all the nature before his eyes.

"I have never seen anything like this..." Judging by Grovyle's tone, he was clearly in awe as well.

Steve spotted several cliffs in the distance. They were situated to his right, just on the horizon of grass. He raised a paw above his eye. "I see some mountains over there," he said.

"Let's go check them out!" Andy and his friends broke into runs. They ran for a while, only to skid to a complete halt.

Before the explorers lay an absolutely massive chasm. Another island floated on the other side, rocky cliffs sitting on it. Separating the explorers' island from that one were a series of smaller islands, all connected by wide, natural bridges. Grass and flora decorated the bridges, running across their entire length. Many of them were winding bridges, some even curving above or below others. It was like a natural network of bridges, all suspended in the air and joining together the floating islands. Up in the sky were several flying Pokémon.

"This place is amazing! It's just so cool!" Andy said, unable to take anymore of the Hidden Land's nature. "To think that we're exploring this place... I just can't believe it..."

Grovyle walked forward, stepping onto the grassy bridge. He turned his head to look back at his companions. "C'mon. There's no time to be admiring this place. It may be beautiful, but we have a job to do." Looking forward Grovyle began to cross the bridge.

"He's right, Andy," Steve agreed. "We can go sightseeing some other time."

"Yeah, you're right." Andy lightly nodded. "Sorry."

Steve and Andy proceeded to follow Grovyle across the chasm.

As they traveled on the bridges, wild Pokémon began to show up. Dragon‑type Pokémon were common in the Hidden Land, and they frequently flew down to block the trio's path. Steve and his team had a lot of space to battle on the bridges, but they still needed to be careful not to fall off into the abyss below.

Dragonite, which were yellow dragons, got in the way of the explorers. Garchomp were large Pokémon that appeared to be a cross between a shark and a dragon. Abomasnow were also large Pokémon, and they made it hail, making painful chunks of ice pelt the explorers' heads.

Steve often used his Force Palm to fight the enemies, with Andy backing him up with Quick Attack. Grovyle also helped, using his moves. They were working as one more than ever.

Manectric dwelled in the Hidden Land, and Andy remembered their electricity absorbing abilities. Steve threw a punch, but missed. The Manectric shot a wave of electricity at him, paralyzing him. Andy stepped up and Quick Attacked the Manectric. Grovyle, after digging into the ground, emerged from below the Manectric, finishing it off.

"I hate being paralyzed like that," Steve complained as the paralysis wore off.

"Don't forget we're here too, Steve," Grovyle said.

"You're not alone," Andy added.

"Thanks a lot," Steve replied, smiling.

Steve, Andy, and Grovyle proceeded further across the huge chasm of floating islands. They had been traveling for a while, but it was never getting dark. The yellow sun lit up the landscape, hovering in a fixed position in the clear blue sky.

On one island a forest grew. The explorers were travelling through that forest, taking down any wild Pokémon they saw. It wasn't much later until they found a spot to rest. It was a clearing, surrounded by a ring of tall trees.

"How much further?" Andy asked, as they sat down to rest. "I'm kinda tired."

"The Rainbow Stoneship could be anywhere," Grovyle said. "I'm more concerned about the time we have. We don't really have time to rest all that long."

Steve looked up through the gap in the trees. The island that housed Temporal Tower was visible, no matter where they were in the land.

"Yeah, we don't have time to be sitting around," he said, standing up. "The tower could crumble any minute if we don't hurry."

"Agreed." Grovyle stood up as well.

"Aww, do we have to? Can't we rest for a few more minutes?" Andy complained.

"Come on, Andy, were almost there. Just a bit further," Steve said, walking over to him. He extended a paw toward his partner. "Every minute we rest, the closer the tower is to being destroyed. We don't wan't that happening."

Andy let out a disappointed huff. "Okay..." He took his partner's paw, and Steve lifted him up to his feet. The three of them left the clearing.

Later, the trio finally reached the other side of the chasm. Tall cliffs sat in front of the explorers. Steve and his friends craned their necks upward to see just how tall the rocky walls were.

"Looks like we're heading up," Steve said to his companions.

"We have to climb that?" Andy asked, taking in the size of the mountain.

"We've climbed mountains." Steve looked back at the cliffs. "But I don't think we ever climbed on the outside of one before."

"It looks like we can walk up." Grovyle pointed to a set of stone stairs leading up on the wall. "We can climb those to get up there."

Steve nodded. "Great. Then let's go." The explorers headed toward the cliff.

When they reached the wall, they looked up. The staircase was made out of stone, and some of the surface was littered with cracks and bits of debris. It was also wide in length, sticking out of the giant rock wall. Steve and his friends began their climb.

As they walked along the cliff, they could see the areas they had passed through far below them. They were now on the other side of the huge chasm with the islands in it.

After they got to the top of the cliff, Andy stopped. He walked over to the edge and looked out over the scenery.

Grovyle glanced at him. "Hey. What's the holdup?"

Andy was silent for several moments. Then he said, "I just never knew a place like this could exist."

"I guess in this world, anything is possible," Steve added, joining his partner's side.

"Treasure Town was the only place I really knew. I've always dreamed of being an explorer. And now, here I am, exploring this land with you."

Steve smiled. "I'm glad I could help."

Grovyle listened to their conversation. He shook his head, but he wasn't angry. How could he stay mad at them? The boys would talk like that forever if he didn't intervene.

"Hey, we have a job to do," he said. "Let's get back to work."

"Okay." Andy looked down at his feet. "Look, I'm really sorry for zoning out like this-"

Grovyle raised a hand to silence him. "It's alright. I don't blame you. You're young, and you're lucky to be able to see this place."

Andy sighed. "Yeah."

"C'mon. Let's get moving." Steve patted Andy on the shoulder. "We have to change the future. Save the world and all that."

"I saw what that world you guys were from was really like," Andy said, remembering their trip to the grey, still future. "There's amazing places like all the areas we've explored, the Hidden Land, and even Treasure Town." With a growl, he clenched his paw into a fist. "I can't let it all be destroyed."

"Right. Let's move." Steve and his companions turned and continued their adventure.

They eventually found a structure made out of stone. An hole was in the middle of the structure, shaped like a giant doorway.

"What is this place?" Andy wondered, looking at it.

"I don't know." Steve glanced around. "Let's go inside."

Inside the stone structure was a long, wide hallway. Sunlight shined in through cracks in the ceiling overhead. Various flowers and bits of grass grew on the path, near the walls.

"Whoa…" Andy stopped, having spotted something.

On the walls of the hallway were murals depicting various figures. The figures were most likely legendary Pokémon.

The first painting Andy came across was of a pink Pokémon that had a long tail.

"I'm not sure what these are, but I think these are the legends that shaped the world… and who we are," Grovyle said, looking around the hallway.

As the trio walked along there was a Groudon image facing another Pokémon which resembled a blue whale.

"That's Groudon right there." Steve pointed at it.

"Oh boy." Andy recalled their battle with Uxie's illusion. "That wasn't the real one, but he still was powerful. I can't imagine what the real Groudon would be like..."

Finally, there was a mural with something that looked like Dialga. Its back was facing another Pokémon.

"What is that?" Steve murmured, looking at the figure. It was primarily white and pink. It stood on two legs, it being bipedal.

"I'm afraid I only know about Dialga." Grovyle shook his head when Steve looked at him for an answer. "I imagine the other Pokémon is related to Dialga in some way, but I really don't know."

Andy stared at the mural for a moment, before he decided to scout ahead. He walked forward past some other murals, when he saw an opening up ahead. "Hey! I think that's the way out!" he shouted.

Steve and Grovyle turned to follow Andy out another entryway. Ahead of them was a small pyramid with a long stairway going up to the top.

"That looks like some kind of pyramid," Steve noted.

"There's stairs leading up to the top." Andy pointed. "Something might be up there!"

Grovyle nodded. "That's a possibility. We won't find out unless we get up there."

So, the trio walked up the many steps up to the top of the pyramid. After about thirty seconds of climbing, they finally reached the top.

On the ground at the center of the peak was the same pattern found on the wall back in Brine Cave and the Relic Fragment. At the center of the pattern was a small hole, appearing as it may have fit something.

Steve noticed a tablet standing like a tombstone to the left of the pyramid's peak. He approached the tablet and studied it. Various bizarre figures were etched on the stone.

Grovyle stepped up to the tablet, studying it for a moment. "These are Unown runes," he said. "I can read this."

"You can?" Steve asked him.

"Yes. I've been studying these symbols for a long time. Give me a moment."

Andy and Steve watched as Grovyle mumbled to himself, reading the tablet. It took a few minutes for him to finish reading.

"What does it say?" Andy said as Grovyle looked back at them.

"This is where we can activate Rainbow Stoneship," he responded, pointing at the pattern in the center of the pyramid.

"How do we do that?" Steve asked.

"Andy's Relic Fragment is the key," Grovyle said. "Put in that hole in the center and that should activate it."

"Okay." Andy walked up to the indentation on the pattern. "I'll-"

"_Stop right there!_" a voice boomed.

Three Sableye came running up the three sets of stairs around the explorers, surrounding them. Dusknoir hovered up the stairway opposite to the stairs Steve and his partners had come up.

"Dusknoir," Grovyle said, unsurprised by his timely appearance. "You followed us here."

"Yes," Dusknoir replied. "I had Master Dialga warp us here directly. I knew you had to come up here to get to Temporal Tower, so I just waited here to trap you. It's so much easier than chasing you down all over again." He chuckled.

"Can't you ever give up for once?" Steve crossed his arms, clearly not amused.

"My goal is to prevent you from changing the future. It is Master Dialga's wish." Dusknoir snapped his fingers and the Sableye closed in on the three explorers. The trio stood back‑to‑back in the middle.

"Come along," Dusknoir said and hovered back down the stairs. The Sableye shoved the explorers down the stairway until they arrived at a small clearing at the bottom. Three more Sableye and a dimensional hole was waiting for them. Dusknoir and the six Sableye had the team surrounded.

"Into the hole with them," Dusknoir ordered.

"_Ready?_" Grovyle mouthed to Steve and Andy.

"_Yeah,_" both of them mouthed back. Then they all lashed out, knocking the six Sableye back.

Dusknoir sighed, growing tired of their attempts to resist capture.

"Why don't you just give up?" he said, hovering between them and the dimensional hole. "You have no chance against me."

"We're not giving up that easily!" Steve declared.

"Yeah!" Andy agreed, glaring at Dusknoir.

"Hmph." Dusknoir clasped a fist in one hand, cracking the knuckles, repeating with the other hand. "Very well, let's see what little resistance you can put up."

"You asked for it…" Steve said, punching his own fists together. He glanced at his partners, and they nodded in agreement.

"Get them!" Dusknoir commanded, and the Sableye all charged in to attack.

Steve jumped and used a reverse roundhouse kick, his foot glowing with Aura. His foot smashed into two of the Sableye, knocking both down.

Grovyle slashed at a Sableye with his leaf blades, taking it out. Andy used his Thunderbolt move, which rained down bolts of electricity all around him. The bolts struck the other Sableye, and they were down and out.

Dusknoir advanced on Steve, and swung his arm. The Riolu sidestepped the arm and retaliated with his own punch. However Dusknoir managed to grab Steve's arm. Surprised, he tried to shake off Dusknoir, but the the ghost smirked and flung the Riolu away. Steve landed on his face, crying out in pain.

Grovyle lunged at Dusknoir with his leaf blades. Dusknoir blocked the attack with one arm and countered with another fist covered in ice. His fist caught Grovyle right in the gut. He yelled out, getting thrown back with ice crystals starting to surround him. Soon, Grovyle's lower body was covered in ice, and he was unable to move.

Andy used Agility and found himself to move much faster. He leapt and struck Dusknoir several times. The ghost held out his arms, trying to defend himself against the Pikachu's rapid attacks. Finally getting an opening, Dusknoir managed to grab the Pikachu mid‑air. Andy let out a cry of surprise and struggled to break free. Dusknoir responded by hurling the Pikachu away.

"Augh!" Andy cried as he hit the ground, rolling to a stop.

Steve angrily slammed a paw on the ground. His friends were getting hurt because of Dusknoir. Steve jumped to his feet. Pulling his paws back, he charged an Aura Sphere and fired it at Dusknoir. It struck Dusknor in the back, causing him to yelp. He turned towards the Riolu, furious.

"You'll pay for that!" Dusknoir shouted and started to attack Steve, when Andy shot a bolt of electricity at him. Dusknoir had not seen that coming. He roared in pain and fury, floating backwards. Grovyle took this chance to shake off the ice and slash at the ghost with his blades. Dusknoir backed up more, getting overwhelmed.

"We thought you were a hero," Steve said, advancing on Dusknoir.

"But you lied to us," Andy added, stepping up to their opponent. "You're just a bad guy!"

"We won't let you deceive any more innocent Pokémon," Grovyle finished, his leaf blades at the ready.

"Take this! Force Palm!" With a paw covered in blue Aura, Steve jumped up toward Dusknoir. Steve's palm strike hit its mark, and Dusknoir was sent flying up into the air. He landed heavily with a loud thud.

"We're going to save the planet from paralysis," Steve declared. "You've lost. Give it up."

"I… I…" Dusknoir growled. "_I refuse to lose!_" he bellowed and jumped up, swinging a fist and knocking all of them back. Andy flipped and fell flat on his face. Steve and Grovyle managed to land on their feet.

To their surprise, the golden face‑like design on Dusknoir's belly opened up, showing a dark, black mouth. A dark ball of energy began to gather at the mouth.

"When will Dusknoir go down already?" Steve said incredulously, helping Andy up.

"Watch it! He's readying some sort of attack with that second mouth or whatever that is!" Grovyle said.

The Sableye had gotten up and surrounded them again, and the explorers couldn't avoid Dusknoir's attack due to being surrounded.

"Get outta our way!" Steve tried to push his way out, but the purple minions held him and his friends inside the circle.

"No... You must fail..." the Sableye said, keeping the heroes surrounded.

Steve looked back at Dusknoir. The sphere of dark energy had grown larger, and Dusknoir looked like he was about to release it.

After a moment, Steve's eyes lit up, a lightbulb going off in his head.

"Andy, Grovyle! When he launches that attack we need to strike at it!" he announced. "I know it sounds stupid, but we gotta try!"

Andy stared at Dusknoir, panicked. The Ghost‑type was too furious to hear what they were saying.

"What?! Are you serious?!" Andy glanced back at Steve.

"We don't have time to argue about it!" Grovyle said. "We'll just have to do and hope it works!"

"YOU'RE FINISHED!" Dusknoir roared and fired the dark ball at them.

Steve, Andy, and Grovyle were ready for it. With narrowing eyes they stared at the blob of darkness rushing at them. It came closer... and closer...

"NOW!" Steve bellowed.

Andy leapt and headbutted the blob, Grovyle slashed it with his blades, and Steve struck the energy with his paw. Their combined attack sent the dark ball flying in the opposite direction.

Dusknoir was too surprised to react before his own attack slammed into him. There was a blinding flash as he howled in pain. It took several moments before the flash subsided. Dusknoir was hovering in place, his red eye flickering, and a small amount of smoke coming from the mouth on his stomach. He then collapsed on the ground with a thud.

Steve, Andy, and Grovyle glared at their fallen enemy, breathing heavily. Dusknoir had been defeated at last.

The six Sableye looked at their fallen master.

"Lord Dusknoir…" one murmured, clearly uneasy.

"Lord Dusknoir has fallen," said another.

They glanced at the explorers for several moments, before screeching in terror and fleeing into the dimensional hole.

Grovyle approached Dusknoir, who was still conscious.

"You just can't have reliable servants, can you?" Grovyle said, looking smug. Dusknoir could only groan in response.

Steve smirked, then looked up at the pyramid. "Andy, go and get the Rainbow Stoneship running," he ordered his partner.

"Okay," Andy replied and turned to run back up to the top of the structure.

Dusknoir shifted on the ground. Grovyle was instantly on his guard.

"Don't move," he said.

Dusknoir lifted his head off the ground to look up at Steve and Grovyle.

"Is this… really what you want, Grovyle?" he said, "to change the future?"

"Yeah," Grovyle responded. "You can't stop us."

"You do realize what will happen if you change the future, don't you?" Dusknoir said. He sounded desperate, almost pleading.

"If you change the future, everything from the future will disappear! The three of us will disappear as well!"

"What?" Steve's eyes widened. He was never told anything like this before. He was sure Dusknoir was lying, but judging by the slightly fearful look on the Ghost‑type's face, he couldn't be sure.

Steve glanced at Grovyle for an answer. The expression on Grovyle's face said everything.

"Yes, Steve…" he said calmly. "It's true. When we change the future, both of us will vanish."


	18. Separation

**Chapter 18: Separation**

Grovyle felt immense guilt for not telling Steve earlier. He never had the heart to tell him. He'd been afraid of how Steve would react.

"We'll… disappear?" Steve said.

"Yes," Grovyle confirmed. "But it doesn't matter. I have nothing to lose. Celebi too. She has the same resolve."

Steve stared at Grovyle, his words sinking in.

"You probably don't remember, but you had the same resolve before," Grovyle continued. He couldn't look at his partner in the eye.

"In the future, you told me you didn't know what to do or where to go. To be honest, I felt sorry for you back then. The only thing I could do was be a friend and give you a goal to achieve. You didn't care if you vanished then…"

"I know what I have to do," Steve said firmly, nodding slowly. "I'll do it. Even if I disappear from time."

Grovyle blinked, a bit impressed that Steve was still determined to do it. However, there was another concern that needed to be addressed to his partner.

"Steve," he said, "It's good to hear that you're as determined now as you were then, but things have changed. You no longer have nothing to lose."

Steve glanced up at the pyramid. His other partner was at the top.

"Andy…"

"I've seen how much you two get along..." Grovyle said hesitantly. "Andy has a strong spirit. I've witnessed that myself. He cares deeply about you, and if you disappear, he's going to be left all alone."

Turning his gaze from Grovyle to the ground, Steve got lost in his thoughts. He wanted to prevent the planet's paralysis, but if he did, he would have to leave Andy behind. He wasn't sure what to do.

At the top of the pyramid, Andy had placed the fragment into the pattern, making the top of the pyramid glow with a rainbow‑colored light.

"Andy's done it, that must've activated the Rainbow Stoneship," Grovyle said.

"No!" Dusknoir growled.

Steve and Grovyle spun in alarm to see Dusknoir rise up with effort. He suddenly swung a fist, catching Steve completely off‑guard. The fist connected with his face and he was sent sprawling to the ground.

"I won't allow it!" Dusknoir screamed, furious. He attempted to pound Steve some more, but Grovyle jumped in the way, taking an attack. He got knocked to the ground.

"I won't allow you to change the future! Never!" Dusknoir shouted. It was clear from his voice that he was suffering from a lot of pain.

Grovyle stood up slowly, feeling pain in several places.

"We don't have time… to be dealing with you, Dusknoir," he snarled, annoyed by the Ghost‑type's persistence. Grovyle tackled Dusknoir, wrapping his arms around him, pinning the ghost's arms to his sides.

Grovyle began pushing Dusknoir towards the dimensional hole, his captive struggling to break free, but only slowing them down slightly.

"Dusknoir!" Grovyle grunted. "You're coming with me back to the future!"

"What?" Dusknoir exclaimed in surprise.

"Grovyle, no!" Steve yelled.

Grovyle glanced over his shoulder at his partner.

"Sorry, Steve. But this is where we part ways."

He reached into his own bag and tossed the Time Gears towards Steve. The gears fell at the Riolu's feet, and Grovyle reestablished his grip on Dusknoir, preventing him from escaping.

Andy ran down the steps to the scene, shocked to see the commotion.

"Grovyle? What are you doing?" he yelped.

"Andy, you and Steve have to go on without me," Grovyle responded.

"No… you can't…" Andy said, wide‑eyed in disbelief.

"You have to! I know you can!" Grovyle grunted, keeping Dusknoir bound. He looked back at the two of them.

"You two are the best explorers I've ever known! You work together like no one else! I know you can do it!"

Steve could see the pain in Grovyle's eyes. Not physical pain, but something deeper than that.

"Steve, I know the separation hurts, but you have to be strong. For both of you! Don't ever lose your resolve!" Grovyle shouted at him.

"Alright, Dusknoir…" He turned back to his struggling enemy. He dug his feet into the ground and pushed as hard as he could.

"Noooo!" Dusknoir bellowed, as he and Grovyle vanished into the hole.

"Grovyle!" Steve shouted, reaching out with a paw. But the dimensional hole flickered, then disappeared.

Andy sniffled, ready to cry.

Steve lowered his arm. He looked at the scattered Time Gears near his feet.

Andy wiped the tears from his eyes, looking at the gears.

"Okay… L-Let's g-go," he said shakily.

Steve nodded and picked up the Time Gears, placing them into their bag.

_Saving the future means I vanish from history, _Steve thought._ I won't exist anymore._

"Hey, Steve?" Andy said. His partner looked up at him, feeling lost.

"What Grovyle said… the separation hurts… I think I know what he meant. It had to be hard for him to do that for us. He probably won't see you again. We gotta do this, for him," Andy said, trying to encourage Steve.

_Grovyle wasn't talking him and me; he was talking about me and Andy…_

_Don't ever lose your resolve._

Steve's expression hardened. He wasn't going to give up on his mission.

_I have to do this. For everyone. For Andy._

"Okay," Steve said, looking up at Andy. "Let's do it."

"For the future!" Andy cheered, pumping an arm in the air.

Both of them nodded, their resolves unbreakable.

They rushed up the steps to the top of the pyramid.

"Whoa," Steve said as they reached the top.

The pattern on the floor was glowing.

"It's about to take off!" Andy exclaimed. "C'mon!"

They stepped onto the glowing pattern on the floor, and a circular slab of stone lifted them up into the air.

"Hey! This thing just lifted up!" Steve cried in surprise. The slab then took off in the air at high speed.

"Wow! Look at all that!" Andy said as they were flying across the Hidden Land on the Rainbow Stoneship.

The scenery was amazing. They could see almost every part of the Hidden Land they had explored.

"Yeah…" Steve breathed, just as astonished. Looking back, he could see a rainbow trail coming from the back of the slab of stone.

Temporal Tower was waiting up ahead, surrounded by brown clouds. It was getting closer and closer.

The Rainbow Stoneship came to a halt and docked at a ledge. The explorers stepped off, gazing up at the tower.

Up close, Temporal Tower felt incredibly ominous. They couldn't help but stare at the swirling, red clouds at the top.

The two explorers ran up the path to the tower.

Steve thoughts came back as they traveled.

_I want to tell Andy what'll happen, but I don't wanna break his resolve. He'll be crushed to hear that I'll be leaving him…_

He was about to open his mouth to tell him, but Andy cut‑in.

"C'mon, Steve! We're almost there!"

Andy was still smiling and determined to change the future. Steve didn't want to see that broken, so he kept his mouth shut.

Instead, he said, "Right behind you!" and followed Andy.

Temporal Tower awaited them.


	19. Tower

**Chapter 19: Tower**

Steve and Andy arrived at the base of the tower. The sky-high structure was primarily blue in color, with an arch pattern on the walls. Parts of the wall were glowing red and blue, pulsating.

The ground shook and bits of debris fell from the tower walls.

"Looks like it's already crumbling," Steve said, observing the structure.

"Then let's hurry!" Andy replied and the two hurried inside.

Several Pokémon lived within the tower. One of the first they encountered were Bronzor, which looked like blue, metal coins.

More residents of the tower were Porygon, a blue and pink artificial… thing. Steve couldn't think of any better ways to describe them.

The tower had one or two exits per room, with an unbranching hallway connecting them, making a linear path. However, when the explorers would go the wrong way, they had to go back in the opposite direction.

Steve and Andy arrived at an empty room where they could finally rest.

"How much higher do we have to climb this tower?" Steve asked, winded from their battles with wild Pokémon and their climb up the tower.

"Not sure," Andy responded, equally as exhausted. "But I think we're halfway- gah!"

The Pikachu yelped as the tower shook. They had to steady themselves on the floor, even though they were sitting down. They had felt the tremors on their way up the tower.

"We gotta keep moving!" Steve said, jumping to his feet. Andy stood up as well, and they went on their way. They were running out of time.

The upper part of the tower was considerably harder than the lower part. The team encountered Porygon2, the evolved counterparts of the Porygon. These were smoother in appearance.

Bronzong, the evolved forms of Bronzor, were large, bell‑like Pokémon that looked like the bell of a temple or a similar structure. These things frequently blocked the explorers path. Difficult to deal with, the explorers avoided them as much as they can.

Then there were Porygon‑Z, which, frankly, Steve didn't know how to describe them at all. They were similar in appearance to Porygon2, just slightly different.

"What is that thing?" Steve asked, dodging its electric attack. "It's really weird!"

"I don't know, but we have to take it down! Thunderwave!" Andy shouted, shooting his own electricity at it. It got paralyzed, and Steve moved in for the finishing blow. The Porygon‑Z fainted, and they moved on.

Steve and Andy finally emerged from the tower's interior to open air. They had reached the top at last.

The red clouds swirling at the top of the tower looked absolutely menacing up close. A hole was in the center, giving the sky the appearance of a red hurricane. Red bolts of lightning were shooting out of that hole.

One bolt struck the top of the tower, making the entire thing tremble. The team had to steady themselves again, but the shaking stopped soon enough.

"This place isn't gonna last much longer," Steve said, on edge.

"We need to put the Time Gears in place!" Andy yelled. "Where do we put them?"

Hurrying forward, they glanced around the top of the tower. Six stone columns surrounded the explorers. At the end of the top was a small set of stairs leading to some sort of stone slab.

Five holes were in the stone. They were shaped like gears, and they decorated the slab in a clock‑like fashion. There were holes where a two, four, six, eight, and ten would be on a clock. Only the twelve o'clock position was intact.

"That's it! Put the Time Gears in that stone!" Andy shouted, pointing at it.

"Okay!" Steve replied and started forward, but a brilliant, blue bolt of energy struck down in front of him. He jumped back, startled.

"**Who dares destroy the tower?**" a deep, powerful voice boomed.

Steve glanced around, trying to find the source of the voice."We're not here to destroy the tower! We're here to prevent time from stopping!" he shouted to the air.

The voice roared in response. Another bolt of blue energy struck with a blinding flash. The explorers glanced away to avoid being blinded by it.

When they opened their eyes and looked back, they both gasped. Dialga was standing before them.

"AHHH!" Andy screamed and hid behind Steve. He peeked out from the Riolu's shoulder, trembling.

Dialga's appearance hadn't changed from when they last met. He was massive, with thick legs and with a metal chest plate, a bright red gem emblazoned on it. The patterns on his body and the gem on his chest were blinking red and blue like the parts of the tower. He was shaking and growling incoherently, like he wasn't completely in control.

"C'mon, Andy! Don't chicken out on me!" Steve said, glancing over his shoulder at the cowering Pikachu. Andy swallowed hard, and stepped out from behind Steve.

"Y-you're right…" Andy said, standing side‑by‑side with his partner. He shook his head rapidly. "I can't be scared now…"

"That's the spirit!" Steve replied, encouraging his partner. "We can still save Dialga! He's lost his reason because of time going out of control, but we can still save him!"

"We can do this!" Andy crackled with electricity.

"We _will _change the future!" Steve declared, his paws glowing with Aura.

"**Those who destroy the tower must be eliminated!**" Dialga shouted, then roared, unable to control himself.

Steve let out a battle cry and charged in, his partner right behind him.

When they moved closer, the gem on Dialga's chest glowed and sent a wave of energy at the explorers. Steve leapt over the attack, missing him by a few inches. Andy had also managed to jump over the energy wave.

Steve leapt and thrust his paw forward, using Force Palm. Dialga was struck by the attack, and he roared in pain. Andy followed up the attack by unleashing lightning bolts all around himself. Several struck Dialga, and the time lord roared some more.

Dialga raised a foot and stomped where Andy was standing. Had he not moved out of the way, he would've been crushed by the foot. He proceeded to use Agility and Quick Attack, striking the time lord with blinding speed.

Steve helped his partner's efforts by hurling Aura Spheres at the time lord. Andy stopped for a moment, and Dialga used the opening to kick the Pikachu, sending him flying away. With a cry of concern, Steve rushed forward and threw a flurry of punches and kicks at the time lord. Dialga, however, used Metal Claw, slashing at the Riolu quickly.

Crying out in pain, Steve clutched the wound on his chest. It was an enormous gash, and he couldn't keep his eyes open. He collapsed to the floor.

"Steve! No!" With effort, Andy lifted himself up to his feet, and ran to his unconscious partner. Worried, he began to shake him.

"C'mon! Get up!" Andy shook his partner back and forth in an attempt to wake him up. Steve's eyes remained closed. He did not stir.

Andy was panicking. He couldn't possibly fight Dialga by himself and win! Steve had fainted, and there was no way to get him back on his feet.

Dialga stomped over to the two intruders. Andy looked up at the time lord, feeling utterly defeated.

"We're done for…" he said with a whimper.

Dialga raised a foot, ready to stomp them to oblivion.

"Nooo!" Andy grabbed his partner in a hug, using Agility to speedily roll out of the way of Dialga's massive foot stomping down. If Andy had done so a second later, they would've been crushed.

Dialga roared, furious that the two intruders had evaded.

Andy released his partner, and looked back at their enemy. He was absolutely furious by now! Dialga had badly hurt his best friend! The Pikachu stood up and stomped towards Dialga.

"I'm not a coward anymore! You hear me?! I'm not scared of you!" Andy screamed. The lord of time stomped a foot angrily in response.

The Pikachu shut his eyes, and he began glowing yellow. Electricity around him crackled loudly, the light growing brighter and brighter. As his attack fully charged, he opened his eyes.

"DISCHARGE!"

Andy unleashed a violent wave of electricity, screaming as he did so. Electritcity struck Dialga, who roared and stepped back in shock. The wave also rippled through the unconscious Riolu on the floor.

Steve sat up suddenly, and quickly had coughing fit. He tried to stand, only to fall back down as he hacked and coughed. Andy noticed and ran over.

"Ugh... What... What happened?" Steve managed to choke out. He felt immense pain in his chest. Groaning, he raised a paw to his wound.

"I thought you were a goner!" Andy wailed, tears welling up in his eyes. "Dialga slashed you really hard, and- and-"

"Ha, it'll take more than a big slash to beat me," Steve quipped. Andy cracked a smile at that.

Steve looked around and noticed Dialga, who was paralyzed with electricty, unable to attack. The Riolu stood up and faced the time lord.

"I'm going to end this," Steve said calmly, lightly punching his paws together like he did before any battle. He was exhausted at this point, but he was still willing to fight. Breaking into a dash, he ran towards Dialga and leapt into the air. The Riolu's fist was enveloped in Aura.

"_This is for the world!_" Steve shouted, channeling all his emotions into the attack. "_For Celebi! For Grovyle! For everyone!_" His fist struck squarely at Dialga's chest-gem.

At that moment, time seemed to freeze. The Riolu was suspended in midair, and the lord of time was still. Then Dialga roared and thrashed in agony, unable to take this powerful attack. Steve landed on the floor and backed up. Dialga stood, smoke coming out of his body. Then he wobbled, and fell.

Dialga had been defeated.

Steve stared at the fallen lord of time, breathing hard.

Andy gaped at his partner, his eyes wide in amazement at what he just did. Then he ran up to him, jumping up and down, excited. They had beaten Dialga!

"YEAH!" the Pikachu cheered, hopping around Steve in a circle. "We did it, we did it, WE DID IT!"

"Couldn't have done it without you... partner..." Steve replied, and collapsed.

"Hey!" Andy cried, looking at his partner worriedly. "Are you alright?!"

"Put the... Time Gears... in the stone," Steve said tiredly.

Then red lightning struck again, and this time the tower didn't stop shaking.

"Oh! Right!" Remembering their objective, Andy quickly collected the Time Gears and ran to the steps up to the stone slab. But a tremor made him stumble and fall backwards, and the gears scattered to the floor.

Andy shakily stood up and gathered the Time Gears again. He ran up the steps to the stone slab, reaching the top. The Pikachu quickly set all the gears into place.

"Did that do it?" he wondered out loud.

Another flash of red lightning nearby knocked Andy off his feet, and he was sent rolling down the steps towards his partner. Both Pokémon couldn't stay awake any longer, and they lost consciousness amid the chaos.

Darkness set in.

* * *

When Steve awoke, the first thing he saw was a clear, blue sky. He sat up, looking around. He was still at the top of Temporal Tower. However, the red clouds were gone, and the tremors had stopped. Everything was silent. Glancing down at himself, he saw that his wounds had healed.

Andy woke up several moments later and looked around.

"Where… where are we?" he murmured. "Are we still at the tower?"

"**Yes. This is Temporal Tower,**" a deep voice said.

The two explorers turned to the direction of the voice, and saw Dialga standing before them. They quickly stood up, alarmed.

"**There is no need for alarm,**" Dialga said calmly. "**I have regained my reason.**"

The legendary Pokémon appeared to be primarily blue and silver in color. No red was seen. His eyes also showed a gentle intelligence. Before, his eyes showed nothing but rage and fury.

"Did we prevent the planet's paralysis?" Andy asked hopefully.

"**Allow me to show you,**" Dialga said, his chest gem shining. Steve was suddenly looking over the landscape, as if he was flying over it.

The vision zoomed in to a forest. He recognized it as Treeshroud Forest.

"Dialga must be showing this to us using his powers," Andy said from Steve's right. They were still at the tower, but the vision was allowing them to see other places.

Treeshroud forest was no longer dull and still. The wind blew through the trees and the forest was a healthy, vibrant green.

"Hey! Time's not frozen there anymore!" Andy said excitedly.

Their vision faded, and they found themselves gazing over Treasure Town. Everyone looked excited, the news of time going back to normal spreading.

"They all look so happy," Steve said fondly.

The view switched to the Hidden Land. It appeared as if the floating island would crumble into the ocean below, but stopped. Their view then shifted to the tower.

Temporal Tower had a few holes in the sides, but was still standing intact.

Their faded again, and they were back at the top of the tower. Steve blinked, shaking his head over the strange experience.

"**Allow me to thank you,**" Dialga said with gratitude. "**I thank you for having the courage to stand up to me, even as I raged out of control. You stopped the disaster in time. I thank you… for bringing peace to all of the world.**"

"We saved the world!" Andy cheered.

"Yeah… we did," Steve said.

Dialga smiled warmly at them, then looked around at the tower's poor condition.

"**It will take time to repair the tower, but know that you two have my gratitude. You are welcome to visit the Hidden Land anytime."**

"Thank you, Dialga, sir," Andy said, and both bowed their heads in respect.

Turning to his partner, Steve said:

"C'mon, Andy. Let's go home."


	20. Goodbye

**Chapter 20: Goodbye**

Steve and Andy traveled down and out of the tower. Soon they were back on the rocky path outside.

"We finally did it!" Andy said, a wide grin on his face. "We saved time!"

Steve walked behind, glad to see that his partner was so excited. "Yeah, we did."

"You hear that, world?" Andy jumped to the edge of the path. "WE'RE TEAM GALAXY!" he bellowed at the scenery. The Pikachu then returned to the middle of the rock path, in high spirits.

"Wow, you're really happy that we did this, huh?" Steve said.

"Yeah! I still can't believe it!" Andy replied, not turning back.

Steve nodded, chuckling. The two Pokémon walked for several more seconds, when something happened...

_Hey… why's it getting so hard… to walk?_

Steve felt strange, as if something was weighing him down. As he tried to move, that weight was increasing by the second. Soon, even lifting a foot was an extremely difficult task for him.

"What's the holdup, Steve?" Andy called, not even looking back.

"Hold on a second," Steve said, his legs feeling numb. Then he saw something and stopped his efforts.

In front of him, a yellow wisp of light rose into the air. Another followed, and he glanced around to see where it was coming from. Then he realized the lights were coming from himself.

_Oh yeah… I must be disappearing from history now…_

Steve had forgotten all about that in the mad dash up the tower and the battle with Dialga. He raised his paws, staring at them and the wisps of light. He knew there was nothing he could do.

_My time's finally up…_

Andy noticed his partner wasn't following him. He came back and was about to ask why Steve had stopped, but noticed the lights surrounding the Riolu.

"Steve, what's going on?" Andy asked, a little alarmed.

Steve smiled apologetically at his partner.

"Sorry, Andy... I really should've told you sooner, but… I have to disappear."

His partner's cheerful mood vanished, as he expected.

"What?! Why?!"

"We changed the future," Steve said. "I came from a future that no longer exists. I'm so sorry…"

Tears were already forming in Andy's eyes.

"Steve… please don't go… I don't know what I'd do without you…"

Andy didn't want to accept it. His partner and best friend was disappearing, and there was nothing they could do about it.

"Andy, go home. Go back to Treasure Town. Tell everyone what happened here. Do everything you can to stop something like this from ever happening again. Go on with your life. _Live. _Do that for me, okay?" Steve gave a friendly smirk.

"Steve… no… I can't do it, not without you." Andy wiped a tear from his eye.

"I know you can, buddy. I've worked with you these past two months. You've become an amazing explorer. I _know_ you can do it."

Andy shook his head, still refusing to accept it. The yellow lights surrounding Steve were becoming brighter and more numerous.

"You're my partner, Steve," Andy said with a sniffle. "We've always did stuff together. I don't want to go on without you," he insisted.

"Same here," Steve responded. "You're my best friend. You're my irreplaceable partner too. I had fun exploring with you." He smiled sincerely, extending a paw toward his partner.

Andy stared at the blue appendage before he extended his own yellow paw, grabbing Steve's. Tears were threatening to spill from Andy's eyes again. "Please… don't go… You can't..." he repeated, stepping closer.

The beautiful lights became even denser, rising into the sky like bubbles. Steve knew he would disappear at any moment. He tightly grasped Andy's paw with his, and nodded firmly.

"Andy… I'll never forget you, buddy."

Those were Steve's last words before his eyelids drooped, and he closed his eyes. He felt nothing, and knew no more.

* * *

Tears were flowing down Andy's cheeks. It looked as if Steve's body was dissolving into the yellow wisps of light. The lights scattered, leaving Andy alone on the rock path.

"Hey, wait!" Andy watched as the yellow wisps rose into the sky, high and out of reach. "WAAAIIIT!" He went to all-fours and ran, as if he could chase those lights and bring his partner back. "Steve! Come back! Don't leave me all alone! STEVE!"

The Pikachu tripped and fell, landing painfully on his face. With a groan he raised his head, looking up. The lights that were Steve were now tiny specks in the sky. To Andy's surprise, something was falling from those lights. Something red. It was falling towards him.

"Is that... his scarf?" Andy raised himself to a sitting position, grabbing the scarf when it came near. He stared at it in stunned silence. The red scarf was the only thing left of his partner.

Andy couldn't deny it. Steve, his partner and best friend, was gone.

He looked up at the sky, then back at the scarf. After a few moments began sobbing uncontrollably. Andy buried his face in his paws and cried for several minutes. After a long while, he finally got to his feet. He wiped his red, stuffy eyes from crying.

"S-Steve wanted me to go home," Andy said to himself. He glanced down at the scarf in his paws. "That was his last w-wish..." Andy opened his bag and placed Steve's scarf inside. Then he turned and ran down the path to the Rainbow Stoneship. He reached the vessel and jumped aboard. The slab took off at high speed.

As Andy flew away, he couldn't stand to look back. He felt like he was drifting further and further away from his lost partner, and that tore him apart from the inside.

The Pikachu managed to get back to where Lapras was waiting. She did not ask any questions, solemnly allowing him to climb on her shell. They traveled away from the Hidden Land.

Andy returned to the guild, managing to smile as everyone came out and welcomed him home.

Chatot was the first to greet him. "Andy! Thank goodness you made it out alright!"

"Well of COURSE he did!" Loudred bellowed. "He's AWESOME!"

"Golly, I can't believe you made it back here," Bidoof said.

"Hi, guys," Andy said, keeping his smile. "I'm back."

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora put her leafy hands over her mouth. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Diglett looked around, as if searching for someone. "Hey, Andy, where's Steve?"

The guild members, silently asking the same question, stared at the Pikachu for an answer. Andy's smile faltered a bit. They watched as he took off his explorer bag and opened it, reaching in for something. He found it and took it out for them to see. The guild members gasped upon seeing it.

"Isn't that Steve's scarf?" Chatot asked. Andy nodded.

"Where is he?" Chimecho asked, hovering forward. "What happened to him?"

Andy stared at the red scarf in his paws. The look on his face told the guild members everything.

"Our friendly friend is... gone?" Wigglytuff asked, already sniffling. Andy nodded again.

All the guild members shared solemn looks. Several seconds of silence passed before some of them decided to give Andy a hug.

* * *

One month had passed since Steve's disappearance at Temporal Tower.

It had been a long day of work for the guild, and Andy was exhausted. He was heading out of the guild when he ran into Bidoof.

"Where ya goin', Andy?" he asked him cheerily.

"Just going for a walk," Andy replied with a smile.

"Well, come back soon, you wouldn't want to miss dinner, yup, yup."

With that, the Pikachu headed down the steps.

Andy went into town, wandering and occasionally chatting with the townsfolk. Soon, his path led him down to the beach.

It was a warm and pleasant evening. The Krabby were perched on the rocks, blowing bubbles into the air.

Andy walked out onto the sand and glanced out at the ocean, seeing the bubbles in the air shining and making the scene beautiful, as always.

"This never gets old," he said, absorbed by the scene. "I've been too busy to come here. When was the last time I saw this?"

He thought for a moment, then he realized… it was when he met Steve.

Andy looked around the beach, almost expecting the Riolu to be there. He went to the spot where he had found him unconscious. He remembered how he had panicked. He thought the stranger wasn't going to wake up.

"This is where it all started," Andy murmured. "The beginning of Team Galaxy."

Fond memories soon started flooding into him.

Signing up at the guild with their first meeting with the Guildmaster.

Rescuing Azurill, reuniting him with Marill.

Their crazy jump into the waterfall and finding a cave behind it.

Fighting the Groudon illusion. Andy was frightened back then, but he stood up to it and Uxie with his partner.

Then there was teaming up with Grovyle, on the run from Dusknoir and his Sableye in the future.

All those times, Steve never told him to give up. He always encouraged him, no matter the situation.

"But he's gone… He's not here anymore…"

Andy sat down on the sand, and after a moment, he couldn't hold it all in anymore. He sobbed and sobbed, all those emotions pouring out of him with his tears.

Feeling a paw on his shoulder, Andy turned and saw Bidoof.

"Andy! Ya didn't come back to the guild so I came looking for ya!" he said.

The Pikachu wiped his stuffy eyes from crying and stood up. He glanced at Bidoof, then began bawling again. Bidoof looked shocked at him crying and didn't know what to do.

* * *

At the top of Temporal Tower, Dialga was looking out over the edge. He could sense Andy's intense emotions, even from far away.

"**When you left this land, I felt your sorrow,**" he murmured, though Andy wouldn't hear him.

"**Though you do not know it, the world needs both of you.**"

Dialga closed his eyes, focusing, and began to do something he wouldn't do normally.

"**If you still feel that sorrow even now, then please take my offering.**"

He opened his eyes and his chest gem glowed with power.

"**This is my thanks! Please accept it!**"

He let out a roar that echoed across the world.

* * *

Andy gasped.

"Huh?" Bidoof looked around, confused. "What was that?"

They had just heard what sounded like a mighty roar. It was distant, and sounded as if it was coming from everywhere at once.

Wiping his eyes again, Andy jumped to his feet. He glanced out at the ocean, as if expecting something to happen.

There was something coming their way.

It was a familiar stone slab with a rainbow-colored trail coming from behind it. Riding the Rainbow Stoneship was a Riolu. A very, very familiar Riolu.

"Andy!" he called from the stone, waving.

"Oh my gosh!" Andy shouted. "Steve!"

Andy ran towards the shore as the slab hovered down. Steve, his best friend, jumped off and waved to him. The Rainbow Stoneship turned and flew away.

"Hey!" Steve greeted. "What's up?"

"Is it... is it really you?" Andy asked, tears welling up again.

"What, you expected a ghost or something?" Steve joked.

"I thought you were really gone this time!" Andy punched him hard in the shoulder. Andy felt the impact, and he knew. This Riolu standing in front of him was really Steve.

"Ow!" Steve rubbed his now aching shoulder. "What was that for?"

"Don't disappear again!" Andy shouted, shaking in anger. "If you disappear on me again, I swear I'll-"

"I'll keep that in mind, for the next time I disappear for the sake of saving the world," Steve cut him off, smiling.

"By golly, Steve, you came back!" Bidoof exclaimed, running forward. "How?"

_This is my thanks! Please accept it! _a familiar voice echoed in Steve's mind.

"Dialga helped me," Steve replied. "He brought me back into existence. It was kinda weird, actually."

Andy calmed down, his eyes starting to water again. "I'm just so glad that you're back, Steve..."


	21. Graduation

**Chapter 21: Graduation**

Steve learned that he had been gone from existence for about a month and proceeded to catch up on what was going on while he was away. The guild members had been pleasantly surprised when he showed up, as they knew he had been gone.

Ever since Team Galaxy prevented time from stopping, things had gotten relatively calm and peaceful. There were still jobs to do, but they were fewer in number.

Life in Treasure Town was pleasant for a while.

* * *

Two months later, there was an announcement in Wigglytuff's Guild.

"Guess what, friendly friends?" Wigglytuff said. "You two are ready to graduate!"

"We're graduating?" Andy asked.

"Yes, graduation," Chatot confirmed. "The two of you have worked quite hard with us all this time, and the Guildmaster feels that you are ready for the graduation exam."

"Hey, hey! A lot of us have been here at the guild for longer than them, and we haven't had a chance to graduate!" Corphish complained.

"A lot of you haven't saved the world like Team Galaxy," Chatot retorted.

"Loudred already tried the graduation exam before," Sunflora said. "He failed spectaturaly!"

Loudred, of course, looked angry at being reminded of it.

"Anyway, Team Galaxy has been chosen for the graduation exam and there will be no objections to this decision!" Chatot declared firmly. The other guild members accepted that fact without any objections.

"So, what are we doing for the exam?" Steve asked Wigglytuff.

"You will be exploring Mystifying Forest to the north," he explained. "You will be searching for the greatest treasure at Luminous Spring."

"That sounds cool!" Andy was shaking in excitement.

Chatot told them to open their wonder map and they did so. The bird pointed to a forest a bit to the north of Waterfall Cave.

"Deep in the forest, there's a spring with lots of light called _Luminous Spring_ where Pokémon would go to evolve," Wigglytuff said. "Ever since the time stopping problem, the spring lost its light, and Pokémon around town haven't been able to evolve."

"We go find this greatest treasure at Luminous Spring; is that our exam?" Andy asked.

"That's your exam!" Wigglytuff replied cheerily.

Steve shrugged. "Sounds easy enough."

"But you'd better watch out for the biggest danger there," Wigglytuff added.

"What?" Steve and Andy blinked. Some of the guild members began to chuckle silently, but stopped and put on straight faces. Team Galaxy didn't notice.

"Deep in Mystifying Forest," Wigglytuff continued, "there's someone called the _grand master of all things bad_." Oddly, he said this warning in a cheery tone.

"That will do for the morning briefing!" Chatot said. "Let's get to work, everyone!"

Everyone except a confused Steve and Andy cheered and headed out.

"Wait a minute! What?" Andy called after them. Loudred was still nearby and the Pikachu called him.

"Hey, Loudred! You've taken the graduation exam before. What happened?"

Loudred looked uncomfortable, like he didn't want to tell them.

"Sorry, I'm NOT allowed to tell you," he said with a tone of guilt. "It's actually a guild RULE." Loudred walked away.

Steve and Andy exchanged nervous glances.

"Well, I hope we don't run into this grand master guy," Andy said.

"Me neither," Steve agreed. "But we have to do the exam."

"Right. So let's go prepare." Andy headed out, Steve following.

They ran into Teddiursa and Ursaring in town. Teddiursa had been at the Hot Spring when they had fallen in from the sky, and they had seen him with Ursaring around town.

Teddiursa was a small, orange bear with a symbol shaped like a crescent moon on his forehead.

Ursaring was much larger, and looked like a grizzly bear with ring on his belly.

"Hey there, Team Galaxy!" Teddiursa greeted them. "We were just heading out."

"Where to?" Steve asked, curious.

"Mystifying Forest."

"What?" Andy said, alarmed. "Haven't you heard? A dangerous grand master of all things bad is supposed to be there!"

"_The grand master of all things bad?_" Teddiursa raised an eyebrow. "We play in Mystifying Forest often and we've never heard of any grand master."

"You must have heard a bad rumor or something," Ursaring said.

"Anyways, we're going. Bye." Teddiursa walked past them and out of town with Ursaring.

"Something's not right here," Andy murmured. "Doesn't sound like anything Wigglytuff's told us, but we have a job to do. Let's get ready to go to Mystifying Forest."

They visited the market and their storage before going.

* * *

Team Galaxy arrived at Mystifying Forest.

"Alright, we're here," Steve said. "You ready?"

"Not really," Andy responded. "I don't know what we're up against, but I'm going."

"Okay, let's do good!" Steve nodded and they headed in.

Mystifying Forest was not hard for the team. Many of the Pokémon they encountered there were weaker than them.

Turtwig were Grass‑types that looked like a turtle. Grotle, their evolved forms, also appeared as well. The Grotle were larger with bushes on their shell. Both these turtle Pokémon were pretty easy for the team.

Other Pokémon they encountered were Spearow, which were aggressive birds, and Chikorita, which were four‑legged grass‑types with a leaf growing from their head.

Later, Steve and Andy arrived at a clearing.

"I think the Luminous Spring's just up ahead," Andy said.

"Oh! Steve! Andy!" a familiar voice called.

Teddiursa and Ursaring came up from behind them.

"So, how's it going? Did you see your grand master of all things bad?" Ursaring teased.

"Well, no, nothing like that," Steve admitted. He was beginning to think that the whole thing was set up to make him and his partner nervous.

"See? Told you probably just heard a rumor," Ursaring said in friendly tones.

"What are you guys doing here?" Teddiursa asked them. "Are you looking for the grand master?"

"Oh, no, we're looking for Luminous Spring," Andy replied.

"Luminous Spring? It's just up ahead." Teddiursa pointed forward. "We're on our way there. Want to come with us?"

"Sure," Steve responded.

The two bears went ahead, stepping around the center of the clearing.

Steve and Andy started forward and stepped in the center of the clearing. Suddenly, they fell through the grass at their feet. Both cried out in surprise as they fell several feet before landing in a large chamber underground.

"What the... did we fall down a pitfall trap?" Steve looked up at the sunlight pouring through the hole overhead.

"Ow-ow-ow," Andy groaned, standing up. "How do we get out of here?"

Then, with a rumbling noise, something covered up the hole. They were completely in the dark.

"Well, that's just great!" Steve remarked sarcastically.

"It's pitch black! I can't anything!" Andy squealed.

"Muhahaha! Welcome to the world of darkness!" someone said.

"Wah! Who's there?" Andy yelped.

"I am the grand master of all things bad," the voice spoke in a spooky tone.

"And his minions!" another voice added. "A whole bunch of us! You can't see us in the dark, but you're completely surrounded!"

"Muhahaha! Falling into our lair is the last mistake you will ever make," the grand master said. "You're not getting out of here."

Steve shut his eyes and focused his Aura vision, but before he could see Auras, light returned to the room. He quickly opened his eyes.

The guild members were surrounding them.

"What?" Andy said, dumbstruck.

"Wigglytuff and everyone else?" Steve exclaimed.

Chatot jumped and looked up.

"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing?" he shouted.

Bidoof peered down into the hole from above.

"Well, I thought it seemed too dark in there for ya'll, so I thought I'd open it up. I've never helped with the graduation exam before. Did I do something wrong?"

Chatot blinked, then slapped his own face with a wing.

Steve looked around and accessed their situation one more time. The entire guild was surrounding him and his partner. _Is this some kinda prank? _he thought.

Wigglytuff said in the spooky voice, "Yes, I am the grand master of all things bad…"

Chatot and the others broke out of their confusion and played along.

"You will fight the hardest battle of all!" Chatot declared.

"Prepare to face the terror that is the grand master of all things bad!" Wigglytuff cheered with a bright smile.

"Okay!" Steve didn't know what was going on, but decided to play along. "Bring it on!"

Andy felt unsure about fighting the guild members, but readied himself for a battle anyway.

Sunflora approached Steve and he Force Palmed her, sending flying away. Then Loudred came up and Andy shocked him, knocking him down. Croagunk moved in to attack but was kicked away by Steve. Andy shocked Chimecho when she hovered close, and she yelped and fell to the ground.

Steve turned to Chatot and hurled an Aura Sphere at the bird. The sphere hit Chatot, and he fell backwards. Diglett and Dugtrio attacked at the same time, but Andy evaded their attacks. He tackled them with Quick Attack and they were down and out. Corphish reached out with a pincer but Steve caught it, lifted the lobster up, and threw him to the side.

The only one left standing in Team Galaxy's way was Wigglytuff.

Andy, with his Agility and Quick Attack, attacked the Guildmaster with blinding speed. Steve, also affected by Agility, attacked with Force Palms that were twice as fast. Wigglytuff was a damage sponge, but before long, he collapsed from their efforts.

"Argh, they got me," Wigglytuff said in an unconvincing tone. "They got us! Run away!"

He and the other guild members got up and ran away yelling, leaving Steve and Andy behind.

After a few seconds of climbing, Team Galaxy got out of the hole as well.

"What was that all about?" Andy said, exasperated. The guild was already gone.

"Part of our exam, I guess?" Steve replied, chuckling.

Andy shook his head. "Luminous Spring is just up ahead. Let's finish and graduate already."

They proceeded forward, catching up with Teddiursa and Ursaring at Luminous Spring.

"What took you so long?" Teddiursa said. "I thought you were right behind us!"

"We had to... take care of something," Steve responded. Teddiursa shrugged and pointed at something on the ground.

"There's this little treasure box here, but we don't know what we should do with it."

Steve stepped closer, examining it.

It was a small treasure box, golden in color, just sitting on the ground.

"We'd open it, but it might be a trap," Ursaring said, uneasy.

"We'll open it," Andy announced. "See, we were told to come here for the guild's graduation exam. They said to bring back the treasure from here."

"Okay then." Ursaring stepped aside. "Go ahead and open it."

"Go on, Steve," Andy said.

Steve nodded and placed a paw on the box, when a familiar feeling of vertigo hit.

_Let's see what this Dimensional Scream tells me._

A flash.

Steve saw the same clearing they were at. Wigglytuff came into his view, looking around carefully. The Guildmaster placed the golden box on the ground, glanced around once more, then ran off.

Steve was pulled out of the vision and immediately went into thought.

_Wigglytuff put this here, so…_

He opened up the golden treasure box.

A single Perfect Apple sat inside.

"It's a Perfect Apple," Steve said, picking it up and showing it to the others.

"Wigglytuff must've put it here," Andy realized, and giggled a bit. It was so like the Guildmaster to do something like this.

There was a flash of light in front of them, and the group turned to look. Up ahead was a shallow pool of water. A column of light shined down gently at the center.

"The power's returned to Luminous Spring!" Teddiursa exclaimed.

"Does that mean-" Andy began.

"Yes! We get to evolve!"

"Teddiursa has been wanting to evolve for a while now," Ursaring said, amused.

Steve and Andy didn't know anything about how the spring worked, so they allowed Teddiursa to have a turn first. The little bear stepped into the center of the pool in the light. A mysterious voice spoke.

"_Do you seek evolution?_"

"Yup!"

"_Do you require an item to do so?_"

"Nope, no item." Teddiursa was still shaking in excitement.

"_Then let us begin…_"

The column of light shining on the little bear got brighter and brighter, and after a moment, Teddiursa began to glow. The little bear's shape grew and shifted. There was a flash.

Another Ursaring stood there when the flash ended.

"Yay! I'm a Ursaring now!" the former Teddiursa cheered, stepping out of the water.

"Congratulations," the other Ursaring said. They looked at each other, with a nervous chuckle. "Now it's hard to tell us apart…"

"Congratulations on your evolution, though," Andy said pleasantly.

Steve was staring hard at the light.

Andy noticed this and asked, "Hey, you want to evolve too, Steve?"

"Sure, why not." Steve shrugged and approached the column of light. He turned to face the others.

"_Do you seek evolution?_"

"Yes," Steve replied.

"_Do you require an item for evolution?_"

"Uh… don't think so."

"_Very well. Let us begin._"

Several moments passed.

Nothing happened.

"_No… evolution is not possible,_" the voice said, sounding mildly surprised.

"What? Why?" Steve turned and yelled up at the light. "Do I need an item?"

"_It is not a matter of needing an item; it is something about the distortion of space._"

"What do you mean?"

"_Your presence has disrupted the space around you. As a result, you cannot evolve._"

"Oh." Steve looked down in slight disappointment.

"_There is another who distorts space… the one behind you._"

Steve blinked, then glanced back at his partner in shock.

"Andy too?"

"_Yes… that is all I can tell. If you seek new evolution, return here. Farewell._"

The light faded, leaving the two explorers disappointed.

"Looks like it's not just me." Steve shrugged. "You can't evolve either, Andy."

"I don't understand why we're not allowed to evolve, though," Andy said.

"Anyway, we have the Perfect Apple." Steve walked out of the spring. "Let's go back to the guild."

* * *

The group got back to Treasure Town. After bidding the two Ursarings farewell, Steve and Andy returned to the guild.

Andy pulled out the Perfect Apple they had collected from the box, and Wigglytuff was overjoyed to receive it.

"Congratulations!" Wigglytuff said, as the other guild members cried out in joy. "Team Galaxy has officially graduated from Wigglytuff's Guild!"

Steve and Andy stood there, awkward and silent.

"Well? Aren't you happy about your graduation?" Chatot asked.

"Oh, it just probably hasn't sunk in yet," Andy replied.

"But this is a time to celebrate!" Wigglytuff said cheerfully. "After all, you did beat the grand master of all things bad and gotten to Luminous Spring!"

"That was you, wasn't it, Guildmaster?" Steve said, regarding the grand master.

Wigglytuff looked confused.

"I'm not the grand master," he said, juggling his apple. The guild members glanced at each other, on edge.

"Oh, c'mon!" Steve laughed. "Admit it! It was you guys!"

"We… don't know what you're talking about," Chimecho chuckled nervously.

Steve raised an eyebrow. _No idea, huh?_

"So, what's the deal about graduating?" Andy asked, changing the subject.

"For starters, you get off the tiresome training program!" Chatot said with a smile.

"You get to move out of the guild!" Sunflora squealed. "You get to make your own base of operations!"

"You can explore wherever you want, hey, hey," Corphish added.

"Do we get to keep the money from our jobs?" Andy asked hopefully.

Chatot shook his head. "Nope. I'm sorry, but you are still affiliated with the guild, so the guild still takes most of the money rewarded," he said somewhat apologetically.

"Aww…" Andy hung his head in disappointment.

"You don't understand! Graduation from the guild is extraordinary!" Sunflora shouted excitedly.

"It shows how AWESOME you two ARE!" Loudred bellowed happily. "Even I couldn't graduate! HAWHAWHAW!"

"Anyway, you two have passed the exam with flying colors!" Wigglytuff said.

"Congratulations, Steve and Andy!" Chimecho cheered.

Andy's frown soon turned into a smile, and Steve also managed to cheer up at the words of encouragement.

"Everyone…" Andy said, teary‑eyed. "Thank you so much, everyone!"

They all celebrated long into the night.

That night was their last night sleeping at the guild.

* * *

The next day, Steve and Andy headed out while the others saw them off.

"Come visit ANYTIME!" Loudred yelled after them.

"We're gonna be visiting all the time!" Steve yelled back.

Andy, a bit thirsty, decided that they should have a treat at Spinda's Cafe. The team had been there several times during their breaks. They went down the hole into the cafe, settling down to have a drink.

"So, now that we're out of the guild, where do you think we can set up a base?" Andy said, drinking his apple juice.

Steve slurped his Oran juice and answered, "I think I know a place."

"Where?"

"Our hideout at Sharpedo Bluff, of course."

Spinda decided to greet them.

"Hi there! I heard! Congratulations on graduating from the guild!" she said happily.

Andy rubbed the back of his head in shyness. "Yeah, we did graduate."

"You two are great! Keep it up!" Spinda went back to the Juice Bar.

Steve glanced towards the front entrance. "I think we should be going now." He drank the rest of his drink and got out of his wooden chair.

"Alright." Andy stood up as well, and the two of them left the cafe.

Steve and Andy passed through Treasure Town and arrived at Sharpedo Bluff. They headed down into the cave.

"From now on, this is gonna be Team Galaxy's base of operations!" Andy announced happily.

"Yeah!" Steve said.

They jumped and did a high five in the air.

Team Galaxy had finally graduated from Wigglytuff's Guild.


	22. Summit

**Chapter 22: Summit**

Steve and Andy came to the crossroads and noticed a Mr. Mime and an Octillery near the cafe entrance.

Mr. Mime resembled a humanoid clown and Octillery looked like a red octopus.

"There's Pokémon in front of the cafe entrance." Andy pointed to them. He and his partner approached the two Pokémon at the cafe entrance.

"What's up?" Steve asked them.

Mr. Mime noticed the explorers and said, "Yeah, there seems to be some great news for all the explorers."

"There's a meeting," Octillery added, "down here in the cafe."

Both Octillery and Mr. Mime disappeared down the stairs in the hole.

Steve and Andy exchanged glances.

"I think we should check it out, too," Steve said. Andy nodded, and they went down the stairs.

Spinda's Cafe had many Pokémon discussing something with each other as Team Galaxy arrived.

"Wow, there's a crowd," Andy commented, looking around.

Spinda stepped forward.

"May I have your attention, please!"

The crowd quieted and directed their attention to Spinda.

"I've got some happy news for everyone today!" she announced. "Has anyone heard of a mountain called _Sky Peak_?"

"Sky Peak?" Octillery repeated.

"I've heard of it," Mr. Mime said. "It's a really tall mountain to the east. It's said that it's so tall, it almost reaches beyond the sky. But the route there has been lost, so it hasn't been fully explored yet."

"Yes, that's absolutely right!" Spinda replied. "Just as he said, Sky Peak has not been fully explored. A mysterious mountain that holds many secrets! Any explorer will surely be interested!" she cheered.

"That sounds really cool," Steve murmured to his partner.

"We've been working hard to reclaim the mountain route," Spinda continued. "And we've succeeded! We also made a discovery! We found a small village at the base of the mountain!"

The crowd cheered.

"Some very rare Pokémon known as _Shaymin_ live there. I'm afraid I don't know much about them, but they are incredibly cute!

"Furthermore, I according to the survey team's report," Spinda said, "on the outskirts of Shaymin Village, they've found a mountain path to the Sky Peak summit!" She started dancing in place. "This is a huge discovery!

"Rumor has it, that there's an _incredible treasure_ hidden there!"

Everyone cheered and applauded again.

"And it's all waiting for you!" Spinda said happily. "I'll show you the location of Shaymin Village! So everyone, let's get moving, with hopes and dreams on our minds and smiles on our faces!"

"HOORAY!" the crowd shouted.

Steve turned to his partner. "This could be interesting. Let's go."

Team Galaxy headed out and followed several other explorers to the Shaymin Village.

* * *

Steve and Andy arrived at a grassy area with a few trees and a small pond. The sweet scent of flowers hovered in the air.

"So this is the Shaymin Village?" Steve said, glancing around at the other Pokémon present.

"It seems so peaceful here," Andy added. He sniffed the air, taking in the sweet smell of flowers.

One of the Shaymin noticed them and approached.

"Welcome to the Shaymin Village," he said.

"Hello," Andy greeted.

"Call me _Ray_. I live here in this village. Then again, all the residents here are Shaymin. That makes it hard to tell us apart, doesn't it?" Ray the Shaymin said.

All the Shaymin looked like white hedgehogs with grassy fur on their back and a pink flower on both sides of their head.

"I'm Steve, and this is Andy. We're Team Galaxy from Wigglytuff's Guild," Steve introduced themselves.

"Did you come to climb Sky Peak too?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Steve nodded. "I assume you know the mountain pretty well?"

"Yes," Ray replied. "We've lived here for a long time. We're here to guide travelers up the mountain, but we haven't done that in a while."

"And why's that?" Andy wondered.

"Well, the mountain path leading here was destroyed by an earthquake a long time ago," Ray explained. "So explorers from outside couldn't come here very easily, and they eventually stopped coming."

"Really? That's probably why no one's come to visit," Andy said.

"And is there really an incredible treasure hidden here?" Steve spoke up.

Ray chuckled. "What do you think? You'll have to found out for yourselves!"

"Oh, well…" Andy rubbed the back of his head. "We were gonna do that, anyway."

"That's right!" Ray said. "By the way, now that we've talked about this, I could be your guide, if you're interested. What do you think?"

"That'll be great!" Steve nodded in agreement.

"Okay!" Ray said, "I'll wait for you at the mountain‑path entrance. It's straight ahead of here. Come after you've finished your preparations. See you later!" The Shaymin walked away to the entrance.

"This is so exciting!" Andy exclaimed. "Our first exploration as a fully fledged exploration team!" He checked their bag, making sure they were properly equipped.

"Are we good?" Steve asked.

"Yep, we're ready to go!"

Steve and Andy approached Ray at the mountain‑path entrance.

"You're all ready?" he asked them.

"Yeah, all good to go," Steve replied.

"Then let's do our best to get to the summit!"

With that, Team Galaxy and their companion, Ray, headed up the path.

* * *

The path they took up the mountain had several wild Pokémon. The explorers and their companion dealt with them on the way to their first stop.

After a short walk through the path, they arrived at "First Station", as Ray called it. Several other Pokémon were already there.

"Sky Peak has resting areas, labeled First Station through Ninth Station," Ray explained to the team. "The Tenth Station is, of course, the summit. The road ahead is long, so let's take it easy."

"Gotcha," Steve said, and they continued on their way up a path.

They soon reached the Second Station. A Breloom, a Grass‑type with a mushroom shaped head, approached them.

"Hey! We're the Survey Team from Project P, Team Frontier!" he greeted.

"Hi!" Andy returned the greeting. "...what's Project P, again?"

"It's the explorers project Spinda, Wynaut, and Wobbuffet created," Steve said to his partner.

"This is a huge, tall mountain," Breloom continued, as if he hadn't heard them. "We've made a base here at Second Station. All the services here are free to use." Breloom then went back to his post.

Andy traded out a few items in their bag at a Kangaskhan Rock, and they were ready to move again.

After they took the next path to the top, they got to Third Station. A Zangoose, Scyther, and Sandslash from the cafe meeting were present. Mr. Mime and a Pachirisu were also there.

"Phew! This is Third Station, right?" Andy wiped sweat off his brow.

They took several minutes to rest before continuing on their way up the mountain.

Team Galaxy and Ray arrived at Fourth Station. Team Frontier was already there.

"Hey, great job!" Breloom said. "We've also established a base at Fourth Station. Feel free to use it."

"Thanks!" Steve replied.

Andy sat down. "I'm getting kind tire-"

The Pikachu was interrupted when someone shouted.

"Who was that?" Steve wondered as Andy stood up.

Octillery came into the clearing, looking rather flustered.

"What's wrong?" Mawile from Team Frontier asked.

"Someone's getting attacked by this strange group near Fifth Station!" Octillery cried. "Can someone help?"

"We'll help," Machoke, the leader of Team Frontier, volunteered.

"Roger!" Breloom and Mawile agreed and Team Frontier went ahead.

"Fifth Station?" Ray murmured. "Wait, don't tell me..."

"What is it?" Andy said.

"Steve! Andy!" Ray turned to them. "We should hurry, too!"

"Why?!"

"_No time to explain!_" Ray yelled. "We have to go!"

Steve and Andy looked at each other, before they continued onward.

At Fifth Station, a Sneasel was surrounded by a bunch of Carnivine, Grass‑types that looked like venus flytraps. They were hovering in the air.

Team Frontier and Team Galaxy arrived at the scene.

"Aha! I knew it!" Ray exclaimed.

"We're Team Frontier!" Mawile shouted angrily. "Only cowards would gang up on one Pokémon! Stop picking on Sneasel and fight us!"

The Carnivine, intrigued, approached Team Frontier and surrounded them. Sneasel took this opportunity to run away.

"You want to pick a fight with us?" a Carnivine said.

Ray gasped and stepped forward.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

But the battle had already begun.

One of the Carnivine bit Mawile. It had little effect on her, and she bit back with her jaw-head. The Carnivine fell.

Machoke used a Low Kick on one, and it collapsed as well. Steve stepped forward and used Force Palm, knocking another one out.

Andy shot his electricity at a Carnivine, and it cringed. Steve jumped at hurled his Aura Sphere at it.

Breloom shot his Seed Bomb at the last Carnivine on the right, injuring it in a small explosion. Machoke used an explosive punch of his own, Dynamite Punch.

"_Everyone, wait a second!_" Ray screamed.

"Wah?" a Carnivine stopped and glanced at the Shaymin.

"A Shaymin from the village!" another Carnivine exclaimed.

"It's been a while!" a Carnivine said, familiarity in his tones.

"You haven't changed a bit!" Ray yelled. "We've told you to stop bothering the explorers, haven't we?!"

The lead Carnivine looked panicked.

"Yeah, but that Sneasel started it!" he exclaimed. "We found some treasure earlier, and that Sneasel decided to swipe it from us!"

"Speaking of Sneasel, he's gone," Steve pointed out. The Carnivine looked back at where the thief had been and gasped.

"Where'd he go?"

"He ran off in the confusion!"

"We thought… all of you were the bad guys…" Mawile murmured.

"Well, you can't exactly say they're good guys, either," Ray told her.

The lead Carnivine heard the remark. "Hey! We haven't seen you in so long and this is how you treat us?!"

One of the Carnivine sighed.

"Meh, it's fine," he said. "Since it's Ray, we'll let it go."

"See you." The lead Carnivine and the others left.

Ray turned back to the explorers.

"The Carnivine have claimed Fifth Station as their territory. They're usually nice, but they can get a little rough sometimes," he explained.

"We're to also to blame, here." Mawile lowered her head. "Instead of listening, we jumped straight into a fight…"

"That's why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover," Breloom remarked.

"Sorry!" Machoke blurted out.

"It's alright," Ray replied. "As long as we all understand. So! let's put this behind us and get back to climbing!"

"This is Fifth Station, so we're almost there!" Andy said.

"Yeah!" Steve responded happily. "Let's keep going!"

The two teams arrived at Sixth Station after several more minutes of hiking.

Breloom turned to Team Galaxy.

"Y'know, from here on, the mountain is covered in snow," he said. "From here on out, there'll be no more bases."

"No problem," Steve responded. "You were a great help, getting us up the mountain."

"Heh heh, you're welcome!" Breloom chuckled.

"We're still gonna make a serious effort to reach the summit," Mawile said. "We're going on ahead." Team Frontier left.

"We're almost to the top, Steve!" Andy exclaimed.

"Then let's get there, buddy," Steve replied, and they followed after Team Frontier.

Team Galaxy arrived at Seventh Station covered in snow. They spotted Team Frontier standing over a fallen Sneasel.

"What happened?" Steve asked, coming over.

"Sneasel had fainted before we got here," Breloom replied. "It seems dangerous around here."

"This isn't good at all," Ray muttered. "We have to call someone for help."

"Who are you gonna call for help?" Steve asked.

"There's a rescue expert at the Eighth Station," Ray said. "We don't call him for little things, but emergencies are different. Could you keep on eye on Sneasel, Team Fronter?"

"Okay." Mawile nodded. "We're counting on you!"

"We're going on ahead," Ray said. "Let's hurry!"

"Alright!" Steve and Andy agreed, and the team went onward.

They soon arrived at Eighth Station. An Ampharos was pacing back and forth. Ampharos was a yellow, bipedal Pokémon with a white belly. He had a long neck with several black rings around it. He also had a tail with a red ball at the tip.

"Ampharos!" Ray called him. Ampharos glanced up and walked over.

"Oh, it's Ray from the village!" he exclaimed. "It's been a long time! How have you been?"

"It has been a long time, but we don't have time to chat. We're in a hurry!"

"Did something happen?" Ampharos asked.

"Yes! At the Seventh Station!" Ray said.

"Here I thought I would have my first guests in a long time, but it sounds like that will have to wait," Ampharos said. "Seventh Station, you said?"

"That's right," Ray confirmed.

"Wait here, I'll go," Ampharos said and walked out the way they came.

"Hey, I'm here to help!" Ampharos reached Team Frontier.

"Over here!" Mawile called. Ampharos walked over to them and studied the Sneasel on the snowy ground.

"It looks like I'm just in time," he said. "Let's carry him to Eighth Station."

Back at the Eighth Station, Sneasel was slowly waking up.

"Oof… unh…" he groaned and opened his eyes.

"He's awake!" Andy exclaimed. Everyone in the room came up to the hay bed.

"Sneasel, are you alright?" Ray asked him.

"Where… where am I?" Sneasel murmured.

"You fainted at Seventh Station," Mawile explained.

"If Ampharos hadn't carried you here, things would've gotten bad for you," Breloom said.

"You did that for me?" Sneasel was a bit touched.

"It wasn't just me," Ampharos said. "Everyone here came to your rescue."

"I see… urk!" Sneasel cringed.

"Take it easy," Ray said. "You have to rest."

Ampharos turned to the other explorers. "You all can go on ahead. I'll take care of him. You're all headed to the summit, right? You're almost there."

"But…" Mawile began.

"There's nothing to be accomplished by you all staying here," Ampharos said. "You all go on ahead."

"Well, alright. We'll leave Sneasel in your care," Breloom said.

"C'mon. Let's keep going," Andy said to his partner.

Team Galaxy reached Ninth Station, which was quite rocky.

"Here we are," Ray said. "Ninth Station."

"Team Frontier might be already ahead of us," Andy pointed out.

"Right," Steve agreed. "Let's go."

Ray nodded, before glancing around at the rock walls.

"Hmm… something seems different from the last time I was here…"

"Huh? What?" Steve asked.

Ray shook his head. "It's probably just my imagination. Well, at any rate, we're almost to the summit! Let's keep at it!"

They soon arrived at the summit, which was clouded with a purple, unnatural fog.

"Oh no, this is terrible!" Ray cried, looking around.

Team Frontier came up behind them.

"What? This is the summit?" Mawile exclaimed, glancing around the fog.

Ray shook his head. "No… this is-"

Suddenly, several Grimer and Muk appeared. They were purple blobs of goo with arms and a face. They surrounded the two exploration teams.

"Wha-what?" Andy stammered.

"A group of Grimer and Muk… this isn't your home, you know," Ray said to the blobs of slime. "Please go back where you belong."

"No, nooooo," a Grimer answered.

"Lies, liiiiiies," said another.

"We drive away cleanlinesssss!" a Muk exclaimed.

"Looks like we have to get them to come to their senses," Ray murmured. "Everyone! We have to fight them!" he shouted.

"Right!" Steve and the others prepared to fight.

Steve approached a Muk and used Force Palm. His paw got stuck into it.

"Hey! Let go! Yuck!" Steve tried to pull his arm away.

"Hehe…" the Muk spit a Sludge Bomb at the Riolu, who cried out and pulled his paw away, wiping mud off of himself. Then he threw an Aura Sphere and the Muk went down.

Andy used his Agility and attacked with Thunderbolt. He summoned bolts of lightning quicker than before, and many of them struck the Grimer and Muk, taking them out.

Ray and Team Frontier were holding their own in the battle. They attacked the final remaining blobs of slime and they eventually won.

"Uwaaaah!" a Grimer cried.

"So stroooong!" another shouted.

"Have you come to your senses yet, Grimer and Muk?" Ray asked them.

The group of Grimer and Muk then looked confused.

"Huhhh?"

"Oh! Shaymin!" a Grimer exclaimed, recognizing the hedgehog.

"What happened while I was away for so long?" Ray asked it. "You know that this isn't your home, right?"

The Grimer looked shocked.

"Huhhh? This is so our hoooome!" it yelled. "Seee? It's all dirty and griiiiiimy!"

"Dirty and grimy?" Ray muttered. Then he perked up, realizing something. "I see," he said. "I'm sorry, Grimer and Muk. This is the mountain summit."

"Huhhhh? The summit?!" a Grimer shouted.

"It can't be!" another exclaimed.

"I think it fell into disrepair because nobody visited for so long," Ray said. "But we can't leave the summit in this condition. Will you please return to your rightful home?" he asked them. "Please? I'm asking you."

"Wh-what? This is the summmit?" a Grimer wondered. "I didn't knoww."

"Sorry, Shaymin," said another. "We'll go home…"

"Alright! Thanks!" Ray brightened up.

"Okay. Bye byeee!" The Grimer and Muk promptly left to go back to their rightful home.

"Well, this place looks really dirty," Steve commented, looking around at the mess. "And grimy."

"We'll have to clean this place up; restore it," Ray said.

"How will we do it?" Mawile asked. "It's so dirty and grimy!"

"We Shaymin have a special power to clean up the land by absorbing dirt and things," Ray explained. "Yet cleaning up this mess is no small task… here goes nothing."

A swirl of wind circled around Ray.

"Whoa!" Breloom yelped.

The fog began rushing around the Shaymin and the wind grew more intense.

"Stand back!" Ray cried. Everyone scrambled back, when he glowed with a yellow light. There was a flash, and everything turned white.

When they opened their eyes, the summit had been restored to its former glory. Pink flowers cluttered on the grass at their feet and the sun shined down on them from above.

"Wow!" Andy exclaimed, looking around.

"This is the summit? What a scenery change from before," Steve commented.

"It's so beautiful," Mawile said.

"I've never seen such beautiful scenery before!" Breloom cried.

"Congratulations on reaching the summit!" Ray smiled. "This is the Sky Peak Summit!"

"Yes! We did it!" Machoke finally said after a while.

"At last, we've reached the summit!" Breloom added.

Mawile looked over somewhere, and pointed. "Hey everyone! Look over there!"

Everyone turned and followed her to the edge.

Below was a landscape filled with mountains covered in clouds. Overhead, a visible shooting star streaked across the sky.

"Amazing!" Andy exclaimed, absorbed by the sight.

"I'm so glad we climbed this mountain," Breloom said.

"Me too," Mawile agreed with her teammate. "This view must be the real treasure of Sky Peak."

"Ray," Breloom said, "thank you so much for guiding us here."

"My pleasure!" Ray replied cheerily. "I had fun climbing the mountain with all of you! We should do this again sometime!"

"Yes!" Mawile jumped.

"Well, it seems like all of you have enjoyed the view from the summit," Ray said. "Shall we go back to the base of the mountain?"

"Wait, how are supposed to get down from here?" Breloom asked.

"I'll take you all back to the base, no problem!" Ray replied.

"How will you do that?" Steve wondered.

"There's a special flower here called _Gracidea_," Ray said, looking at a flower in the grass. "It's very special for us Shaymin."

"How's it special?" Andy asked.

"How is it special, you ask?" Ray responded, then touched the flower.

Ray glowed with a yellow light, and shifted form. The Shaymin now looked like a white reindeer with ears resembling wings, a mohawk of green fur on his head, and a red flower petal on his neck like a scarf.

"Whoa! You look different now!" Steve exclaimed.

"I just touch the Gracidea flower, and I change forme temporarily," Ray explained. "When I'm in this forme, I can fly!"

"You can fly?" Mawile echoed. "That means…"

"That's right!" Ray exclaimed. "Let's soar down to the base of the mountain!"

And so, Team Galaxy, which had successfully climbed to the Sky Peak Summit, thanked Ray and returned to Treasure Town. On the evening of the day of their return, there was a party at Spinda's Cafe. Everyone stayed up late into the night, discussing the exploration.


	23. Blizzard

**Chapter 23: Blizzard**

The next morning, Steve sat up, yawning long and loudly. He and Andy had stayed up late at night and as a result, slept in late. The sun was already high in the sky.

Andy awoke, yawning and stretching. "It's late in the morning!" he exclaimed. "But yesterday was so much fun, wasn't it? I'm still kinda tired from staying up all night, though."

"Yeah, exploring is so much fun," Steve agreed.

"Right!" Andy said, smiling brightly. "Another day of exploration is waiting for us!"

Team Galaxy left Sharpedo Bluff, ready for more adventures.

Steve and Andy walked to the crossroads from the town and saw Mr. Mime from yesterday's exploration.

"Hi," Steve greeted him.

"Say, have either of you heard of _Blizzard Island_?" Mr. Mime asked.

"Can't say that I have," Andy replied, getting curious.

"Hard dungeon; that's Blizzard Island. It's far to the southwest, out at sea. I heard that a legendary explorer went there once. No one's heard from him ever since," Mr. Mime explained.

"Who's that explorer?" Steve asked.

"I believe his name is _Scizor_," the mime answered. "He discovered all sorts of things. Blizzard Island was the last place anyone heard about him going to, then he just vanished. That was a few years ago."

Steve and Andy exchanged glances, wondering what had happened.

"I wouldn't advise you two to go there," Mr. Mime warned. "It's too dangerous, and you're just starting out."

"Oh well." Steve shrugged. "Thanks for the info, though!"

Team Galaxy went off to do some job requests. Later in the afternoon, they wandered down to the beach to relax.

"We should totally go explore Blizzard Island," Steve said, gazing out at the sea.

"No way!" Andy exclaimed. "It's too dangerous!"

"Are you scared to go?" Steve retorted. "We've been to scarier places before, you know."

"But… but…" Andy stammered, not thinking of anything to say to that.

"I think we should try exploring it today," Steve continued.

"Okay, but how are we gonna get there?" Andy asked.

Steve didn't think about the transportation part. How were they going to get to an island far out at sea?

"Need any help?" a voice said.

They turned to the voice and saw their friend, Lapras from the Hidden Land, swim to the shore.

"Lapras!" Andy and Steve waved and approached her.

"You need a way to get to Blizzard Island?" she said.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I've heard you two speaking about it here," Lapras chuckled with a gentle smile. "I know where the island is, so it is no problem. Hop on."

The two explorers carefully climbed aboard her shell. Lapras turned and swam out towards sea.

* * *

Steve was enjoying the smooth ride on Lapras. There was a cool breeze flowing, making the cool air enjoyable.

Night fell, and Andy was already asleep. Steve stayed awake, thinking about what had happened at Luminous Spring. He lay on his back, gazing up at the stars in the night sky.

_So Andy and I distort space. I get how I distort it, because I came back to this world after floating around in nothingness._

Dialga had brought the Riolu back from non-existence.

_That makes sense… since I'm not supposed to exist, there's a spatial distortion for me._

_But what about Andy?_

Steve rolled over to look at the sleeping Pikachu. He wasn't sure why his partner distorted space.

_Well, he's never forgotten about me while I was gone, at least. Maybe his memories of me are what is making him distort space._

Steve felt like these thoughts were going to give him a headache. He dropped the thoughts and went to sleep.

The next morning, Steve woke up feeling chilly. It was snowing, and it was getting much colder.

"We're almost to Blizzard Island," Lapras said, noticing him awaken.

Steve nodded and gently nudged the sleeping Pikachu. "Hey, wake up. We're almost there."

"Huh? What?" Andy murmured sleepily, slowly waking up. He felt how chilly it was and shivered. "Wow, it's getting cold."

"Yeah." Steve glanced past Lapras' neck and saw Blizzard Island fast approaching.

They reached the island a few minutes later. When the two explorers disembarked, Lapras told them she would be waiting for their return.

Team Galaxy marched onward into the snowy landscape before them.

Blizzard Island, as the name highly implied, snowed and hailed a lot. The two explorers were constantly being blinded by snowstorms.

Wild Pokémon that inhabited this place didn't take kindly to the trespassers.

"I thought we prevented a time disaster," Steve said, knocking out a Delibird, which was a red, penguin-like Pokémon. "Why are Pokémon still acting aggressive?"

"Disasters still happen sometimes," Andy explained. "Other issues pop up as well. The world's no longer in danger, but that doesn't mean that the world's problems will go away completely."

They pressed on, taking out wild Pokémon on the way. The two explorers even had some time to admire the snowy landscape as they traveled.

"All this snow is pretty," Andy commented as they rested at a waypoint.

"Yeah." Steve took out an apple and ate it. "I've never really seen any snow in my entire life."

"You never had to worry about the weather in the future, huh?"

They burst into fits of giggles before standing up, ready to move on.

Team Galaxy explored the island further until they discovered something.

The two of them had discovered an enormous wall of ice with a large, crack-like hole in the center. It was clearly the entrance to a cave.

"Wow," Andy breathed, looking at the ice.

Steve stared into the cave entrance. "Wonder where it leads. We'll find out. That's our job as explorers." He smiled at his partner, who smiled back.

They repacked their items at a conveniently placed Kangaskhan Statue nearby. They took several moments to rest before heading into the cave.

"Brrr... " Steve rubbed his arms, trying to keep warm. "It's even colder in here than it was outside."

"You're right..." Andy grasped his scarf tighter.

The inside of the cave was much colder than outside, as Steve had pointed out. The two explorers shivered in the cold, having only their fur coats and scarves to keep themselves warm.

Residents of the cave attacked the two trespassing explorers. Unlucky enough, they soon encountered a Monster House in a large room.

Monster Houses involved many Pokémon dropping down from the ceiling, surrounding opponents. Steve and Andy were trapped in a horde of Pokémon.

"Oh no! It's a Monster House!" Andy cried, backing up against his partner.

"Did we bring any Spurn Orbs?" Steve asked hurriedly.

"I think so!" Andy dug into their bag, searching for the aforementioned orb as the wild Pokémon closed in on them. A Spurn Orb was needed to teleport the Pokémon away.

"Well?!" Steve yelled urgently.

"Um…" Andy looked up nervously. "We didn't bring any Spurn Orbs…"

"Dang it!" Steve glanced around, seeing nothing but a horde of wild Pokémon around them. He smacked his fists together. "We're just gonna have to fight."

A Prinplup, a large, blue penguin, moved in to attack. Steve punched it with his fist. The penguin got knocked back against several other Pokémon, knocking them all down.

Andy unleashed his electricity at a group of Pokémon, the lightning bolts raining down and striking them.

"Get outta our way!" Steve shouted angrily as many Pokémon attacked him. He spun with his arms outstretched. His Aura attack flung many of the attacking Pokémon back. However, he would take out two and four more Pokémon would take their place.

"Steve, how are we gonna keep this up?!" Andy was panting, already getting tired from using his electrical attacks too much.

Steve growled in annoyance. At this rate, they were going to drown in a sea of wild Pokémon. Glancing around quickly, he saw that there was no way out. The Pokémon closed in.

Andy and Steve cried out when the mob of Pokémon fully mobbed in the center of the room. The two explorers were trapped inside a huge group of Pokémon in a comical cloud of dust. It was incredibly hard to tell what was going on.

"Hey!" Andy hissed, having escaped the mob. "Over here!"

Steve snuck out of the crowd, joining his partner outside. The two explorers ran away; away from the crazy mob of wild Pokémon.

After about ten minutes of running, they stopped to catch their breaths.

"Whew!" Andy sat down. "That was a close one, eh?"

"More than close! We were being mobbed by a horde of Pokémon!" Steve said, exasperated. He looked around. "Where are we, anyway?"

Team Galaxy was in a mostly empty chamber. In the back of the room was a large block of pure ice.

"Let's check that out," Andy said, standing up and following his partner to investigate the ice.

Then a blizzard blew into the room, obscuring their vision in bright white.

When the blizzard subsided, a Pokémon appeared before the two explorers.

"Well, hello there."

This Pokémon hovered in the air. Steve guessed she was a Ghost-type.

Her body was white and looked like she was wearing a red ribbon tied around her midsection. Overall, she looked like a dress of sorts made out of snow and ice.

She had a round head with a helmet-like shell covering it. The shell had two long, hanging things from either sides of it. The shell went over her eyes but had two large eyeholes so she could see out of it. She moved the two hanging things like arms. Her face was mostly purple with icy blue eyes.

"I don't get many visitors," the Pokémon said, smiling gently at the two explorers.

"Who… are you?" Steve's teeth were chattering from the cold. Next to him, Andy was also uneasy.

"I'm Froslass," she introduced herself, then giggled. "You are certainly a cute one, aren't you?" she said to Steve.

"Huh?" Steve blinked, caught off-guard by her remark.

"Come closer." Froslass had an arm raised to her mouth, giving her a thoughtful look.

"Um…" Steve was tempted to do so. The sound of her voice was calming him slightly. He took a step forward when Andy grabbed his arm, pulling him back. The Pikachu huddled close to him, shivering from the intense cold.

Froslass looked disappointed.

"Aw… come closer, dear. You must be freezing," she said sympathetically.

Steve shook his head, resisting the temptation.

"Come closer," Froslass repeated, still smiling. Then her tone turned sinister.

"_So I can freeze your warm souls!_"

Steve and Andy stepped back in alarm, going into their fighting stances as Froslass approached them with an unfriendly gleam in her eyes.

Froslass took a breath and blew a freezing wind at the explorers. They scattered, leaping to the sides. Andy got up and shocked her with his electricity, stunning her. Steve jumped and attacked with a Force Palm. Froslass was knocked back by his attack. She glared at him.

"Take this!" Froslass spread her arms wide and generated ice crystals. She shot those crystals towards the Riolu.

Having no time to dodge the insanely fast ice, Steve shielded himself with his arms as best he could. He cried out has the crystals battered him, but he was still standing.

"Hah!" Andy leapt and bashed his skull against Froslass. She yelped, recoiling from the pain.

"Time to finish you off!" Steve rushed towards Froslass. He jumped and delivered a Force Palm to her face.

Froslass screamed and "staggered" backwards in the air, before things turned all white. When the snow calmed down again, Froslass was no more.

Steve and Andy shared a high five in their success.

There was a loud, sharp cracking noise. Team Galaxy turned to the direction of the sound. The block of ice in the back was cracking. Then it shattered.

A Pokémon stood where the ice had been, having been frozen solid. The Pokémon was primarily red in color. His body was divided into three segments, so Steve guessed he was a Bug-type. The bug had a head with three points at the top and claws for hands. The Pokémon swayed and Steve moved to catch him before he hit the ground.

The Bug-type Pokémon was waking up.

"Are you Scizor?" Steve said, holding him up. The Pokémon wasn't particularly heavy for Steve as he was pretty strong as Fighting-type.

"Y-yes…" Scizor responded in a raspy voice, probably from being frozen for so long. "I-I was f-frozen by…"

"Froslass. I guess that's obvious," Steve said, helping Scizor stand on his feet. The lost explorer grunted, managing to stand without the Riolu's help. Then the bug promptly fell backwards and ended up sitting on the ground.

Andy rummaged through their bag and pulled out an apple. He offered it to the fallen explorer. "Here, maybe this'll help.

Scizor thanked him for the apple. After he had recovered enough strength to stand, the three of them left the frosty cave.

The three explorers traveled back across the island. It was already getting dark.

"So how did you end up in that ice?" Steve asked Scizor.

"I was exploring Blizzard Island when I found that cave," the older explorer explained. "I met Froslass, and she tricked me with her charms. Then she froze me in that ice."

"That must've been pretty bad," Andy commented, uneased by the thought of being frozen in a block of ice.

"How did you two find me in this place?" Scizor asked Team Galaxy, curious.

"Someone in Treasure Town told us about you," Steve answered. "We decided to come and explore this island."

The three of them traveled further until they reached Lapras, who was waiting patiently for them. Steve told Scizor that she was their method of transportation. The Bug-type didn't ask any questions and joined Team Galaxy on her shell, too tired to fly with the small set of wings on his back. They all went off back to Treasure Town.

* * *

The next morning, they were finally back in Treasure Town. Lapras gave the three explorers a gentle smile and swam off. Steve and Andy thanked her for the help and headed back to the crossroads with Scizor.

"I'm so glad to be warm again," Andy said, relieved to be back in the town's gentle breeze.

"Thank you for rescuing me from that icy prison." Scizor bowed his head. Then he looked around, rubbing the back of his neck with a claw.

"However, it seems I've been gone for so long, that I'm now lacking my own money."

"We can give you some of our Poké to start over if you want," Andy offered.

Scizor turned down the offer.

"I will not take from the explorers who rescued me," he said, shaking his head. "I do wish I have something to repay you with, but I have nothing." The bug raised his claws apologetically. "I will simply have to start from scratch. I bid you farewell." Scizor bowed to Team Galaxy and left.

"Another successful exploration," Andy said proudly.

"Yea- ACHOO!" Steve sneezed loudly.

"Looks like you're getting a cold!" Andy laughed, before sneezing himself. Laughing, the two of them headed through the town square, drawing a few odd looks from the town residents. Team Galaxy walked around town, chatting with some of the residents before taking a few jobs to do.

Later that evening, Steve and Andy were back in their base in the bluff. The Pikachu had already fallen asleep.

_Argh… I hate getting colds,_ Steve thought grumpily. He sniffled and rolled over, trying to fall asleep. After a bit of sniffling, was finally able to sleep.


	24. Manaphy

**Chapter 24: Manaphy**

_Steve stood in a place swirling with colors. He glanced around, confused at where he was, then realized that he was asleep._

_He felt some kind of presence enter his dream._

"_Who's there?" Steve said in his head, the thought echoing aloud throughout the colorful area._

_A Pokémon he had never seen before appeared before him. It__ had no legs, hovering in the air. The upper half of the body was a light blue and the underbelly was yellow in color. The Pokémon also had pink rings on its back and sides._

_Steve glanced up at its face. Its head was shaped oddly, appearing as if it was wearing some sort of yellow helmet. The rest of its head pointed outwards and had small, purple eyes glinting with a white light._

"_I've been looking for you," she said in an unfriendly tone. She didn't appear to have a mouth, so Steve figured she must be a Psychic‑type to be able to speak telepathically._

"_You were looking for me?" Steve said. "Who are you?"_

"_I am Cresselia. You and your partner are bringing the world to ruin."_

"_What?! How are we doing that?!" Steve shouted. Why was she accusing him of such a thing?_

_Cresselia glanced around, appearing to be distracted. She looked back at the Riolu and gave him a glare._

"_I will return," she sneered, and vanished from his dream._

"_Hey! What do you mean by us ruining the world?!" Steve yelled, but Cresselia was gone._

Steve woke up the next morning, feeling odd in the head.

_Was that just a dream? _he asked himself.

He shook his head, discarding what he'd dreamed.

_It's just a dream. Nothing to be worried about._

Team Galaxy got up and headed out to town, doing their daily routine of checking items in their storage.

Mr. Mime talked to them as they went about their business. He'd been surprised to hear the news about Scizor.

"You were the one who suggested that it was hard for us in the first place," Steve told the mime, looking smug.

"Well, good job, anyway." Mr. Mime congratulated them and walked away, leaving Steve and Andy feeling good about themselves.

After they had done a few jobs, they headed back to the guild and received their rewards from their clients.

Several minutes later, Sunflora was making a lot of noise, running around in circles.

"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!" she squealed excitedly.

"Whoa! Calm down!" Steve said, and she turned to him, still shaking in excitement.

"Didn't you hear? This new dungeon just sprung up!" Sunflora shouted. "It's called the_ Surrounded Sea_!" She flapped her leafy arms wildly in excitement.

Andy laughed, finding Sunflora to be funny acting like that.

"Are you going there?" the Pikachu asked.

"Oh my gosh, no!" Sunflora replied. "It'll be too hard! But if you two want to go, I'll point it out on your map!"

Andy took out their map and Sunflora jabbed her leaf at the point where the dungeon was supposedly located, and jumped into her craziness again.

Steve and Andy decided to leave her alone. They headed out of the guild, going for the beach.

They met Lapras on the beach and set out to sea.

* * *

Surround Sea, as the name implied, was out in the middle of the ocean. It wasn't as far as Blizzard Island, being closer to the south of town.

Lapras swam for several hours. Finally they arrived at a cave on a single, large rock sticking up in the middle of the ocean. Other smaller rocks surrounded the larger rock.

"If that cave goes underwater, we're gonna have to swim," Steve said, disembarking.

"Looks like it," Andy agreed.

Lapras smiled. "Good luck, you two."

Steve and Andy went into the cave.

Water‑type Pokémon were primarily in this dungeon, giving its location and all of the water around. Steve and Andy frequently had to dive underwater, swim, and resurface in air pockets.

Pokémon that attacked the two explorers were Tentacool, which were blue jellyfish. Finneon were fish with butterfly wing-like tails.

Kindra, blue sea horses, were really annoying for Steve and Andy. They got blasted by salty sea water, stinging their eyes. They worked together to bring the Kindra down.

They explored in the cave away from the deep water for a while until they came up to another deep hole filled with water.

"We better get ready for more swimming," Steve said, eyeing the water.

"I'm already getting a little tired of swimming," Andy complained.

They took deep breaths and dived in.

After a long time swimming and warding off other Pokémon underwater, they reached another air pocket. They burst their heads out of the water, gasping and gulping big breaths of air.

"I just... hope… this dungeon... ends… soon…" Steve gasped.

"Yeah…" Andy said, spitting out water. "I think- _WAH_!"

Steve and Andy quickly fell underwater.

A Sharpedo, a large shark, was dragging the two explorers at high speed through the water. It appeared to be half of an actual shark, as it lacked a tail. The Sharpedo had a blue top with a white underbelly, with a yellow arrow design on the top of its head. Its jaws were razor sharp, looking as if it could crush anything with those sharp teeth.

In the Sharpedo's jaws was Andy, desperately trying to keep the mouth and teeth from closing in on him. Steve was on the shark's back, holding on for dear life. Steve gripped tighter and shook the shark back and forth, trying to steer it.

Andy broke free from the jaws as soon as they clamped down. He shifted to the back, as Steve climbed forward onto the front of its head. The Riolu threw a well‑aimed punch to the Sharpedo's nose, and it shook violently, hurling the two explorers off through the water.

Both of them shot out of the water, landing and rolling on solid rock. They finally came to a stop, gasping and coughing up water.

"Ugh... that was... close…" Steve coughed.

"That was... absolutely..._ terrifying!_" Andy spat up water and shook water out of his fur. "I'm not doing anything like that ever again!"

Steve chuckled and looked around. They were in some kind of watery chamber. He saw something sitting in a deep puddle of water ahead. Curious, he stepped over to have a closer look.

A clear, see‑through egg was sitting at the bottom of the shallow hole filled with water. Steve couldn't see anything in the egg, except for maybe a glowing red core of some sort. He reached down and picked up the egg.

"What is this?" Steve asked, examining it.

"It looks like an egg of some kind," Andy replied.

"Should we take it?" Steve wondered.

"Might as well. I'm actually curious at what will hatch from it," Andy said. Steve picked up the egg with two paws, gripping it carefully.

Steve and Andy used a warp panel on the floor to teleport outside.

It was already evening, and they saw the sunset in the horizon. Carefully carrying the egg with them, they went back to where Lapras was waiting.

Team Galaxy climbed aboard Lapras and traveled back to Treasure Town.

* * *

The next morning, they reached the town's beach. Thanking Lapras again, Steve and Andy walked back to their base in the bluff.

They discussed how they were going to take care of the egg. Eventually they figured out since nothing had been guarding it, the egg would soon hatch without a problem.

So the two of them set up another straw bed and gently set the egg upon it.

The rest of the day was spent doing jobs. Then it was nighttime and the two of them went to bed.

Steve stayed awake at night, remembering and thinking about what Cresselia told him. She had accused him and his partner of bringing ruin to the world. He wondered how they were bringing out a disaster.

In the early hours of the morning, Andy was already awake, checking out the egg when Steve woke up.

"When will it hatch?" Andy asked, admiring its unique appearance.

Right on cue, the egg began shaking.

"Hey! Look at it!" Andy exclaimed, pointing.

The egg shook a bit more, before it cracked, light erupting out of it. Both of the explorers shielded their eyes from the bright light. As it faded, they lowered their arms. Hovering in front of them was a Pokémon they had never seen before.

The newborn Pokémon was almost entirely in blue, and some sort of red gem was on its chest. The Pokémon had a small body with long, flipper‑like arms and stubby feet. It had yellow eyes with some kind of web design on its large head. On the top of its head were two long antennae things hanging back in an arc.

It glanced around, trying to figure out where it was when its eyes fell on the explorers, giving them a look of curiosity.

"Wow! It's not like any Pokémon I've ever seen!" Andy said.

The Pokémon blinked, wondering what the Pikachu had said.

"It's just a baby," Steve told his partner. "I don't think it can understand us." The Pokémon turned in his direction and the Riolu waved.

It copied his action, smiling wide.

"Hel… hello…" it said, attempting to pronounce words.

"You talked!" Steve exclaimed.

"Aww, he's so cute," Andy said, finding the baby Pokémon to be adorable.

"You think Chatot might know something about him?" Steve asked.

"Probably," Andy responded. "He is the head of intelligence at the guild after all."

They left their base, coaxing the newborn to follow them.

The baby Pokémon could apparently hover off the ground when it wanted to move. Steve and Andy headed for the guild, the Pokémon happily bobbing along after them.

The three of them arrived at the guild and met with Chatot. They explained their trip about Surrounded Sea cave, how they had gotten the egg, and how it had hatched into the blue Pokémon.

"And that's why we're here," Andy finished their story. "Do you have any idea what this little guy is?" he asked Chatot.

"Hmm… I do believe this is the first time I've seen this Pokémon," Chatot replied. "But judging what you've told me, this youngster appears to be a Pokémon named _Manaphy_."

"Manaphy?" Andy repeated, looking at the newborn.

"Correct," Chatot said. "This youngster is an extremely rare Pokémon. There are only a few in the world.

"It's said it is born at the bottom of the sea. It then travels the seas over thousands of miles," Chatot explained. "I should emphasize that you would rarely ever see this Pokémon. As a result, little is actually known about it."

"Wow." Andy was starry‑eyed. "So this guy's a really rare Pokémon!"

"Rare! Rare!" Manaphy cheered.

"So, you two. What do you intend to do with this youngster?" Chatot asked.

"We don't really know," Steve replied. "That's why we're asking you."

Manaphy lowered to the ground and started to cry.

"Wah… wah… waaaah!"

"Whoa!" Andy exclaimed. "What's wrong with him?"

"The baby started crying all of a sudden!" Steve added.

"I would imagine he's hungry," Chatot deduced.

"Oh. What do you think he eats?" Andy asked.

"Hmm…" Chatot thought for a moment. "I'm not sure, but because he's a Water‑type, how about feeding him some Blue Gummis?"

"Okay. Some Blue Gummis." Steve nodded.

"We even have some in our bag already!" Andy reached inside their bag and pulled out a large, blue jellybean. He gave it to Steve, who approached the crying Manaphy, holding out the Gummi.

"Wah?" Manaphy stared at the Blue Gummi, sniffling.

"Go on, eat it," Steve said. "It's a Gummi."

Manaphy took the Gummi, studying it for a moment, before popping it in his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, a smile appeared the baby's face.

"Goomi! Goomi!" he cried happily.

"Whew, he ate the Gummi," Steve said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Manaphy hovered closer to the Riolu, yelling, "Goomi! Goomi!"

"I think it likes you, Steve!" Andy said, giggling.

"Ya think?" Steve winced, a little uncomfortable with Manaphy hovering in front of his face.

"You know what?" Andy turned to Chatot. "This guy's still a baby, so can we look after him for a while?" the Pikachu asked.

Chatot was silent, pondering the request for several seconds before answering.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," he said.

"Why not?" Steve asked.

"This child is a Pokémon that would normally grow in the sea," Chatot explained. "This is a dry environment. We also know almost nothing about Manaphy. Who knows what could happen to him here?"

"But it wouldn't be safe just to return the little guy by himself to the sea," Steve reasoned. "Couldn't we look after him until he gets a little older?"

Chatot stood, thinking about it.

"We'll take proper care of the little guy. We promise!" Andy added.

"Fine," Chatot finally replied. "If you insist."

"Don't worry! You can rely on us!" Andy gave a mock salute. "Right, Steve?"

"Yeah!" Steve saluted as well.

* * *

"Okay, Manaphy," Andy said, once they were back at home. "For the time being, this is your house."

"House?" Manaphy repeated, confused.

"That's right. House," Steve said. "We're gonna look after you."

"House! House!" Manaphy sang, apparently excited. When he quieted down, there was an awkward silence.

"Um… what do you think we should do now?" Andy asked.

"Goomi! Goomi!" Manaphy suddenly cried.

"You want another Gummi?" Steve said.

"He's got quite an appetite!" Andy laughed.

Steve pulled out a Blue Gummi from their bag for the baby to eat, again.

"Is it tasty?" Andy asked when Manaphy began chewing the candy.

"Tasty?" Manaphy echoed after he'd swallowed the Gummi.

"Yes. Tasty?"

"Tasty!" Manaphy cheerily exclaimed. "Goomi tasty!"

"Ha!" Steve laughed. "He's gonna grow up in no time at this rate!"

Manaphy's expression suddenly turned gloomy, as if something was bothering him.

"Oh, is something the matter?" Andy asked, noticing the baby's expression.

Manaphy yawned, then promptly fell asleep on his bed.

"He must be full," Steve commented. "He's gone to sleep now."

"We should let him sleep," Andy said. "Sleep tight, Manaphy."

The next morning, Manaphy awoke earlier than his two caretakers.

"Good morning!" Andy said cheerily.

"Morning." Steve yawned, and noticed Manaphy already awake.

"Hi!" the baby said, smiling.

"Good morning, Manaphy!" Andy replied.

"Morning! Steve! Andy!"

"Wow! He greeted us by name!" Andy exclaimed. "That's awesome!"

"Awesome!" Manaphy repeated.

"Well," Steve said, glancing at his partner. "What should we do today?"

"Eating and sleeping all the time doesn't seem healthy enough for him," Andy responded, regarding Manaphy's habits. They thought about what to do for a few moments, before Andy got an idea. "I know! Let's take him for a walk on the beach!"

The trio went through Treasure Town and headed to the beach. They walked through a collection on tall rocks before they reached the shore. Manaphy looked out towards the sea and gasped. He hovered over the waves, singing excitedly.

"That's the sea," Steve said.

"Sea?" Manaphy echoed, looking intrigued.

"That's right. Sea," Andy said. "That's where you came from."

Manaphy suddenly hovered over to the explorers, circling around them excitedly.

"Sea! Sea!"

"Manaphy seems really happy to be here," Steve said. "Glad we brought him down to the beach."

Manaphy, Steve, and Andy played on the beach until the afternoon.

Later that night, Manaphy woke up and glanced towards the bluff opening. He hovered over to it, staring out at the vast expanse of sea.

The next morning, Team Galaxy woke up, ready to start another day.

"Ah!" Steve sat up and stretched. "That was a good night!"

Andy yawned and stretched too. "Morning, Mana- Huh?"

Manaphy's bed was empty.

They looked around, but Manaphy was nowhere in the base.

"Where'd he go?" Andy wondered. "What should we do?"

"Let's go look for him!" Steve said.

They headed to the crossroads in town, and spotted Chatot hopping to them.

"Ah, Team Galaxy!" he greeted. "I was just on my way to see how Manaphy is doing. I trust he is doing well?"

"Manaphy's gone missing!" Steve blurted out.

Chatot, knowing him, was suitably shocked. "Wh-what?! Didn't I tell you two to take proper care of that baby?! Didn't I?!" he yelled at the carelessness of the two guild graduates.

"Sorry," Andy mumbled.

"We woke up this morning and he was just gone," Steve explained.

Chatot sighed, calming down a little.

"Manaphy's still a toddler," he said. "He couldn't have gotten too far. I'll look through the guild. You two search outside." Chatot hopped back to the guild hurriedly.

"Where should we search?" Andy asked when the bird was gone.

"What about the beach?" Steve suggested. "Manaphy seemed really happy to be there yesterday."

"Good idea!" Andy and his partner raced down to the beach.

Steve and Andy found Manaphy hovering over the sand, gazing out at the sea. They ran over to him.

"Manaphy! We were worried about you!" Andy exclaimed. "Why'd you come here by yourself?"

Manaphy didn't answer. He didn't even look at the Pikachu. His attention was wholly on the sea.

"Hey, Manaphy?" Steve said, coming around to the front of the baby, waving a paw. "Hello?"

Then Manaphy collapsed on the sand without warning.

"Oh no!" Andy cried, examining the baby. Manaphy's breathing had gotten shallow, and his blue skin was turning a bit pale. Andy touched the baby's forehead, noting how hot it was. "This is bad, Steve! He's burning up with a fever!"

Steve knelt down next to the sick baby, worried as well. "Hold on!" The Riolu carefully picked Manaphy up and carried him back to their base.

When they returned home, Steve gently set Manaphy down on a bed. Andy left to get Chatot.

"No," the Riolu whispered. "How could this happen?"

Andy came back with Chatot a minute later.

"Chatot! Something's wrong with him!" Steve said. Chatot approached and laid a wing on the baby's forehead.

"My goodness, what a terrible fever," he murmured.

"We found him on the beach, then he just flopped over," Andy explained.

"His illness must be caused by being in the wrong environment," Chatot said. "Manaphy is a Pokémon that needs to grow in the sea; our environment is dry. That is why this infant is ill."

"And it's all our fault." Andy lowered his head, feeling guilty.

"It's not your fault, and standing around won't help now," Chatot said gently. "We need to focus on curing Manaphy's illness."

"So how do we cure him?" Steve asked.

"Here's something I've heard," Chatot began. "According to the Pokémon living in the sea, that there is a cure‑all item known as _Phione Dew_. That may be what it takes to cure Manaphy's illness."

"Phione Dew?" Steve rubbed his chin, thoughtful. "Where can we find that?"

"There are Pokémon called _Phione_ that drift along the sea. They are said to produce Phione Dew. I believe they live in an area to the west called the _Miracle Sea_."

"Okay!" Andy nodded. "The Miracle Sea it is!"

"We have to find the Phione, no matter what, buddy!" Steve said. "It's the only way we can save Manaphy!"

* * *

Several hours later, Steve and Andy arrived at a beach area filled with water.

"Here we are," Steve said, jumping off Lapras. "Miracle Sea."

"We have to find the Phione!" Andy reminded him. "We gotta hurry!"

The two explorers explored their way around the sands and water. They soon discovered a cave and headed into it.

The sea cave was well lit, even deeper inside. Water-types frequently popped out of the water to attack the two explorers.

Many of the wild Pokémon were the same species from Surrounded Sea. New Pokémon called Mantine attacked Steve and Andy. Mantine were manta rays which could swim in water and also fly in the air.

Team Galaxy occasionally had to dive and swim underwater, resurfacing elsewhere.

Steve and Andy arrived at an empty room and sat down to rest. After eating apples and resting for a few minutes, they were ready to go.

Traveling further into the cave for several hours, they finally reached a large chamber. They noticed several Pokémon resembling Manaphy, but these Pokémon had blue eyes and only one antenna on their head, while Manaphy had two antennas.

The group of Phione chatted and laughed with each other over a deep pool of water. They never noticed a pair of eyes evilly watching them from under the water.

Steve was about to approach the Phione when there was a loud roar.

"GROAAARR!"

A Gyarados erupted from the pool. It looked like a giant, blue sea serpent. It had a menacing face with a gaping mouth. It glared at the terrified Phione, who all scattered.

"I have finally found you, Phione!" the Gyarados bellowed at the cowering Pokémon. "From now on, you will serve me!"

"Hey! Big stuff!" Steve shouted. Gyrarados turned, noticing the explorers.

"You dare challenge me?!" he yelled.

"Indeed we do!" Steve cracked his knuckles.

"You think you can take me on?" Gyarados retorted. "I can beat both of you easily!"

"If you think you can beat us, you're mistaken," Steve retorted. He leapt and launched a Force Palm at the water dragon's face. Gyarados recoiled as he was struck by the palm strike.

Andy summoned lightning bolts at the sea serpent, many of them striking the target. Gyarados backed up more in intense pain.

"Here comes my palm!" Steve leapt into the air, aiming his signature Force Palm at Gyarados' face. There was a loud smack, as the sea serpent was knocked backwards.

"GAH!" Gyarados screamed. "You… I won't forget this!" The sea serpent turned and dove back into the water, sending water splashing around the chamber.

"That's it?" Andy said, mildly surprised.

"That was easy," Steve commented, wiping water off of himself.

The Phione, who had been hiding, looked around. Deciding it safe, they approached the strangers who had saved them from the Gyarados.

"Thank you!" the lead Phione cried. "You beat that mean Gyrados! Here's a gift for you!" It gave Steve a small box.

Steve opened it up, and inside was a small bottle filled with a slightly blue, clear liquid.

"That's Phione Dew!" one of the Phione explained. "It can heal a sick Pokémon very fast!"

Team Galaxy thanked the Phione and quickly headed home.

* * *

Early next morning, they returned to their base where Chatot was waiting patiently. They immediately gave him the Phione Dew, who administered it to Manaphy.

Manaphy's fever went away quickly. After several minutes, he was back in his happy mood again. Chatot sighed in relief. Steve and Andy played with Manaphy while Chatot had left to contact someone. The bird returned after about an hour.

"I have contacted someone to take Manaphy back," Chatot said gravely. "We've agreed to meet at the beach." He knew how hard this would be for all of them.

The two explorers looked downcast, but nodded solemnly. They knew this had to be done. Manaphy, being an infant, just looked confused at their sad faces.

That evening, they went down to the beach to meet the Pokémon who would be taking Manaphy back to the ocean.

The Pokémon was Walrein, a walrus Pokémon. He had a pair of tusks and a bunch of white hair on his face like a beard.

"Aye... so this is Manaphy?" he said with a sailor's accent, eyeing the child.

"Yes," Chatot responded. "I trust you will take good care of him."

"Right. I'll make sure he grows up fine and proper out in the ocean," Walrein said.

Steve and Andy approached Manaphy.

"Hey, we have to say goodbye now," Steve said sadly.

Manaphy hadn't heard the words before and repeated them.

"Goodbye, Manaphy," Andy added, sniffling.

Manaphy didn't understand and wanted to play with them, but Andy shook his head.

"No, you go with Walrein." Andy pointed to the walrus.

"You're coming with me, lad." Walrein gently grabbed Manaphy with one flipper, securing him.

"Steve? Andy?" Manaphy said, scared of what was happening. Walrein began to drag him to the water.

The child struggled to get back to them, but it was useless against Walrein's strength.

"Steve! Andy!" Manaphy wailed as he was dragged into the water.

The two Water-type Pokémon soon vanished under the waves.

"Goodbye," Andy whispered, tearing up.

"I'm truly sorry, but this is for the best," Chatot said to the two of them before leaving.

Neither Steve nor Andy spoke when they returned to their base.

Steve and Andy had trouble sleeping that night. Manaphy having to leave them was still on their minds.

When they woke up the next morning, they sadly looked over at the third bed which they didn't want to take apart.

"I miss Manaphy already," Andy said. "Was it really the right thing to do? Just leaving him?"

"I don't know," Steve replied. "But we did what we could. Chatot said it was for the best."

They really wanted to have Manaphy stay with them. They had ended up being attached to the kid, so it had been harder to say goodbye.

Andy appeared to be the most affected by Manaphy's departure. Steve patted him on the shoulder.

"C'mon, Andy," he said. "Let's keep up with our jobs. For Manaphy."

The Pikachu looked at his partner in slight surprise. "Yeah… you're right. When we see him again, we're gonna be an even better exploration team!"

"That's right!" Steve nodded. He gave his partner a smile; Andy returning it with his own. They put away the third bed and cleaned up a little around the base. Then they headed out.

Team Galaxy got back into their routine of doing jobs, relaxing, then returning to their base in the evening.


	25. Charm

**Chapter 25: Charm**

One day, Team Galaxy went into the guild and noticed the job board room was completely empty.

"Where is everyone?" Steve wondered, glancing around. He had never seen the room without any Pokémon before.

Many excited voices echoed from the lower level of the guild. Something exciting was going on down there, no doubt.

"I hear them down there." Andy pointed to the hole going down. "That's probably where everyone is."

Steve nodded in agreement and headed down the hole with Andy.

When they got down there, they noticed the entire guild crowded in front of the Guildmaster's chamber. Everyone was gathered in a circle and talking excitedly.

"Hey, Chatot?" Steve said, getting the bird's attention. "What's going on today?"

"Don't you know?" Chatot responded, sounding shocked. "Team Charm has come to visit the guild! They are an incredibly famous exploration team!"

"Team Charm?" Steve repeated, wondering what kind of Pokémon they were.

The three Pokémon squeezed through a gap in the circle to see better. Then they saw the visiting team.

"Standing in the center is the gorgeous Lopunny," Chatot said wistfully. "She's the leader of Team Charm…"

Lopunny was a rabbit-like Pokémon with long ears. Her ears were so long that they nearly touched the ground, hanging behind her head. She had mostly brown fur with bits of white here and there.

"The graceful one to her right is Gardevoir," Chatot continued.

Gardevoir had a green dome-like head. She looked like she was wearing a white dress of some sort.

"And finally, the last one to her left is Medicham," Chatot finished, sounding like he was in a trance.

Medicham had large legs which looked like a set of really baggy pants. The rest of her body was slim. Her head was pink and it looked like she was wearing a hat.

"Aren't they simply marvelous?" Chatot sighed.

Steve studied the visiting team for a moment, then shrugged.

"Sure, I guess they're cool and all." The Riolu glanced at his partner. "What do you think about them, buddy?"

The Pikachu was gaping at Team Charm with a slightly awestruck expression on his face.

"Wow," Andy breathed. "A super famous exploration team's here!"

Then the Guildmaster emerged from his chamber and greeted the visiting team.

"Hi, friendly friends!"

"Wigglytuff! How've you been?" Lopunny replied in a tone matched the Guildmaster's.

"It's been a long time, Wigglytuff," Gardevoir said, smiling warmly.

"WHAT?" Loudred shouted as loud as ever. "Team CHARM knows the Guildmaster?"

"Yeah, we used to go exploring together all the time," Medicham laughed.

Team Charm and Wigglytuff took a minute to chat. Then Gardevoir cleared her throat and got everyone's attention.

"Wigglytuff, we've returned because we finally found those sealed ruins we've been looking for," she said.

"We gave you the key to keep it safe, remember?" Lopunny added.

The Guildmaster blinked a few times, and thought about for a moment. Then he shook his head. "Nope, sorry. Can't remember any key."

Medicham reacted to this in outrage. "You _lost _it?! We gave it to you for a _reason!_"

Gardevoir shook her gently shook her head. "You really haven't changed, have you, Wigglytuff?" she chuckled. She glanced at her leader. "Lopunny, if you will…"

"I'm on it!" Lopunny replied cheerfully, and dug into their treasure bag. She found what she was looking for and pulled it out. It was a big, red apple.

"Here you go, Wigglytuff," Lopunny said, setting the Perfect Apple down in front of the Guildmaster. Of course, he was excited to receive it and started bouncing it on his head.

"Now, about that key…" Gardevoir began.

"Oh yeah! _That _key!" Wigglytuff responded, his eyes lit up. "I remember now! Just a sec."

The Guildmaster caught his apple in a hand and went back into his chamber. A few seconds later, everyone heard a loud "YOOM-TAH!" then an even louder crash. It sounded as if the Guildmaster had destroyed his own chamber.

Wigglytuff emerged, looking as if nothing happened. He held something in his other hand.

"Here you go," he said, giving it to Lopunny. Then he bounced his apple on his head again.

"Thanks, Wigglytuff," Lopunny said with a bright smile.

"Say, Wigglytuff," Medicham spoke up, "you wanna join us for the exploration, just like old times?"

Wigglytuff was too busy playing with his apple to listen to the offer.

"I think that's a no," Gardevoir said.

"C'mon, let's go unlock those ruins and find some treasure," Lopunny said, her smile never wavering. The circle of the Guild members broke apart to make way for the team.

Andy's heart skipped a beat as Team Charm came close. Lopunny noticed them, and approached with a hop.

"Hi!" she greeted. "Well, you two are certainly cute ones!"

"Yeah, we've heard that one before," Steve commented, rolling his eyes slightly.

"You know our name," Gardevoir said. "What's yours?"

"I'm Steve."

"I'm Andy."

"_We're Team Galaxy_!" the Riolu and Pikachu finished with a pose. They stood side-by-side, each with a paw pointed forward.

"You boys look so silly!" Lopunny laughed. "Hope you'll do great things just like us!" She gave them a wink, and Team Charm left the guild.

Steve and Andy stayed to chat with the guild members a bit, then headed outside.

They saw Team Charm at the crossroads, and went over.

"Excuse me!" Steve called. Team Charm turned around to see them.

"What is it, darlings?" Lopunny asked.

"You said you're gonna explore some ruins right?" Steve said. "Well, I was wondering… could we, y'know, come along?"

"We didn't have anything planned for today," Andy added.

The three Team Charm members glanced at each other, and nodded.

"Sure! You can come along!" Lopunny said cheerfully. "You boys go get ready for the trip, okay?"

"Okay!" Steve nodded. He and Andy went into town to pack their items and prepare.

* * *

"Here we are, Aegis Cave," Lopunny said when they approached a rock wall with engravings on it. She pulled out the key Wigglytuff had given her and inserted it into the rock.

The engravings glowed, then the rock shifted out of the way to reveal a cave entrance. The five Pokémon stepped inside.

Team Charm and Team Galaxy came into a small chamber with a stone tablet standing in the middle.

"What's this?" Gardevoir murmured, kneeling down to inspect the stone tablet. Steve came up alongside her for a look as well.

At the top of the stone were runes Steve had seen before, in the Hidden Land. They spelled a word.

"Hey, those are Unown runes, right?" he said.

"Yes, that's right," Gardevoir responded, sounding impressed. "I happen to know how to read all kinds of runes. I've been studying while exploring." She glanced back at the runes. "The word spelled here is 'ICE'.

Steve looked at the runes again. He could almost make out the word 'Ice' engraved, but the runes had odd shapes and designs that prevented the runes from appearing to be normal, plain letters.

"_If you wish to proceed, close your eyes and submit your proof,_" Gardevoir read more text below the runes. The text was in normal letters, rather than Unown runes.

"What does that mean?" Andy asked. "Submit our proof?" He and Steve looked at Gardevoir for an answer.

"I know a lot, though I certainly don't know everything," she said with a soft giggle.

"How 'bout we go into the cave and explore?" Steve suggested, pointing at the path leading further inside. "We might find some answers then."

"Sounds good to me," Lopunny replied. "But the two of us are competing now, okay? Who ever gets the treasure first, keeps it. Deal?"

"Deal!" Steve said, willing to take the challenge.

Team Charm went ahead, before Team Galaxy followed.

Aegis Cave had many Pokémon called Unown. These Pokémon were black in color, and they had a single eye. All had various shapes and hovered over the ground. They were also Psychic-types, and the only attack they used was Hidden Power, an attack which always varied in type effectiveness.

Steve and Andy took the Unown down with ease. When defeated, the Unown would shrink and turn into stone.

"Check it out," Steve said as he picked one up. The stone was shaped slightly like an "E".

"Weird," Andy commented. "Maybe they're some part of a puzzle."

"Maybe." Steve put the Unown-turned-stone into the bag. Team Galaxy explored further, beating more Unown and making them turn into stones.

Soon, they were back at the chamber with the stone tablet. Team Charm was already there, mulling over the puzzle.

"That was a short dungeon, wasn't it?" Andy said, glancing back the way they came.

"Yes, it was quite short," Gardevoir agreed, inspecting the stone again. "If we don't solve this riddle now, we'll be exploring this dungeon for long time."

"This is so annoying!" Medicham threw her arms up into the air. "We just don't know what to do!"

"We should explore the cave some more," Gardevoir said. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

"Alrighty then. Let's all keep it up. Good luck, you two," Lopunny said sweetly to Steve and his partner. She winked at them and went deeper inside the cave with her team.

Steve waved at their retreating figures before he approached the stone tablet again.

_Hmm… maybe… _He laid a paw on the stone, waiting for a Dimensional Scream.

Nothing.

Steve reread the text under the runes once more.

"_Close your eyes and submit your proof_?"

With a shrug, he closed his eyes. Unbeknownst to him, the Unown stones in Andy's bag started to glow and vibrate.

"Hey! The stones!" Andy exclaimed when the stones levitated out of his bag. Steve opened his eyes to see the Unown stones insert themselves into the indentations in the runes on the stone tablet.

Steve and Andy were blinded by a bright light. When the light subsided, the stone tablet was gone, replaced by a stairway going down.

"It turned into stairs!" Andy cried. The two of them headed down to come to another room. The stone tablet reappeared at the top, trapping the two explorers.

"Guess we have to move forward," Steve said. They walked through an entryway to find a large chamber.

Standing near the end of the chamber was a Pokémon. It looked like a large ice crystal with arms and legs. An odd array of yellow dots decorated its front.

"IF YOU WISH TO PROCEED, THEN SHOW YOUR POWER," it stated in a robotic voice. The Pokémon advanced on the two explorers, a cold chill sweeping across the room. Clearly it was an Ice-type.

Steve rushed forward and smacked it with a paw. Jumping back, he shook his paw, already getting numb from the intense cold.

"Oooh, it's really cold," he said. "Careful."

Andy nodded and unleashed a lightning bolt upon the Pokémon. It struck it, but it didn't seem fazed by the attack. Then the Pokémon summoned several rocks into the air, and shot them at the two explorers.

Steve and Andy dodged the rocks as best they could, but one hit the Pikachu.

"Agh!" Andy cried, falling backwards.

"Hey! Don't hurt my partner!" Steve yelled, and dashed forward, striking the ice Pokémon with a series of punches and kicks. Again, the Pokémon seemingly had no reaction to the attacks.

Steve leapt back, and Andy stood by his side. They braced themselves for another attack.

But then the Pokémon vanished into a sphere of light. The light hovered for a moment, before going into Steve's body.

Astonished, he checked himself for any injuries, before preparing himself for a psychic attack. However, the robotic voice echoed in his head.

"THE GUARDIAN'S PERMISSION HAS BEEN GRANTED. YOU MAY PROCEED."

Behind where the guardian had been standing, a wall opened to show a way forward.

Steve and Andy exchanged glances, shrugged, and went deeper inside.

They arrived at another small chamber with a stone tablet just like the first one when they had entered the ruins.

It also had the same message, which said to close their eyes and submit proof. But the Unown runes at the top were different.

Steve studied the runes for a minute, trying to translate them.

"It says… 'ROCK'," he deduced.

Andy noticed a slip of paper on the ground they had overlooked.

"Hey, what's this?" He picked it up and showed it to his partner. Steve came over and looked at it as well.

"Looks like a note from Team Charm," Steve said.

"_To Team Galaxy, We've already gone ahead. Don't forget that this is a race. Good luck. Lopunny," _Andy read.

"Yeah, let's go," Steve said, spurred into action by the message.

They went on ahead to collect more Unown symbols. It took a while, but they found the letters they were looking for. The stones inserted themselves into the tablet and the stairs appeared.

Team Galaxy went down to find another chamber with another guardian. This Pokémon was made out of brown and gray rock. The yellow dots on its front had more of a red hue.

"IF YOU WISH TO PROCEED, THEN SHOW YOUR POWER," it said, repeating the same message of the previous guardian.

Andy started the fight by using Agility, speeding up himself and Steve. The Riolu leaped forward to attack.

The rock Pokémon summoned rocks into the air and flung them towards the Riolu. In the air and unprepared, the rocks hit Steve and sent him down to the ground.

Andy yelped as the rocks came flying towards him. He jumped into the air and launched himself at the guardian, bashing his skull against it. The attack apparently left a small dent in the Pokémon's rock body.

"Wow, is your head really that strong?" Steve asked, a bit surprised.

"Ouch!" Andy winced as the top of his head pulsated with pain. "I think I cracked my skull with that one…"

The Riolu turned back to the guardian and pulled his arms back, charging a ball of Aura in his paws.

"Haven't used this in a while; Aura Sphere!" Steve shot the blue ball of Aura at the rock Pokémon, chipping away more of the rock on it.

Soon, the guardian turned into the ball of light and entered Steve's body. Again, the voice spoke, allowing the two of them to proceed.

Team Galaxy came to a third chamber with yet another stone tablet.

"How many times do we gotta keep doing this?" Andy said, feeling exhausted.

"This better be the last time," Steve murmured, and studied the tablet. "Now it says… 'STEEL'."

"Can we rest a little? I'm feeling tired," Andy said, sitting down.

Steve silently agreed and they rested for several minutes before they were ready to move on.

After going through the cave and getting more Unown stones, they returned to the room.

"That was kinda repetitive," Steve complained. In the cave, they had to find the correct Unown to turn into stones.

"Nothing we could've done about that, I guess," Andy said.

Steve approached the stone tablet and closed his eyes. Once again, the Unown stones reacted, and inserted themselves into the stone, revealing a set of stairs.

Another chamber awaited with yet another guardian. It looked like it was made out of steel, having a silver-colored "shell". An opening in its center showed a black core with a pattern of red dots. Its arms were slim, and had hands that had three "fingers" each.

"IF YOU WISH TO PROCEED, THEN SHOW YOUR POWER."

The Pokémon advanced on the two explorers.

Andy shocked the steel guardian while Steve threw an Aura Sphere. Unflinching from the attacks, the guardian stepped forward and swiped with a hand. Andy was able to jump out of the way, but Steve wasn't so lucky; he flew off before landing on the ground.

Andy rushed forward and slammed his head into the guardian.

_Clonk!_

The Pikachu fell backwards onto the ground. When he got up, he began stumbling around, dazed.

"That was a bad idea," he groaned, rubbing his aching head. "Not again..."

"Try this!" Steve shouted, slamming his foot into the guardian. A wave of pain shot from the Riolu's foot to his body. He instantly hopped back towards Andy.

"Ow-ow-ow!" Steve clutched his injured foot, hopping on one leg. "What's this guy made out of?!"

"Steel, obviously," Andy replied. "Let's not use our regular attacks."

"Agreed." Steve charged an Aura Sphere while Andy readied his electricity.

The guardian attempted to swipe at them with both hands, though it missed, and the explorers stood up and fired their attacks at it. The Aura and electricity struck the guardian, and it stopped moving. It then vanished into the ball of light and went into Steve.

"THE GUARDIAN'S PERMISSION HAS BEEN GRANTED. YOU MAY PROCEED."

That didn't surprise Steve and Andy, as this already a happened before.

What did surprise them, was Team Charm suddenly falling from the ceiling. All three members landed on the ground, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Lopunny was the first to open her eyes.

"Ugh... what happened?" she groaned, standing up.

"I'm not sure," Gardevoir replied, standing up as well. "I think we were fighting that Registeel, and Medicham got into trouble. I can't remember anything past that."

Medicham sat up. "Sorry, girls. It was all my fault…"

Steve and Andy got over their surprise at Team Charm suddenly falling from the ceiling.

"You alright?" Steve asked them.

"Yeah, we're fine," Lopunny answered with a smile. "We haven't failed an exploration in a long time, so I'm kinda ashamed of myself."

"Don't worry about it," Andy said. "We all make mistakes."

"True." Gardevoir nodded in agreement.

"So, did you win at where we failed?" Medicham asked Team Galaxy.

"Yep!" Steve responded.

"Okay then! We'll continue onward, but from here on out, this is your exploration," Lopunny said. "You get to claim the treasure at the end. Thanks for rescuing us!"

"Okay!" Andy replied cheerfully.

"Shall we be on our way?" Gardevoir asked.

"Yeah, let's go!" Steve said, and Team Charm headed deeper into the cave first. Team Galaxy followed afterwards.

Aegis Cave didn't have anymore stone tablets with symbols, much to Steve's relief. He was already tired of having to find the right Unown stones.

Team Galaxy soon arrived at an enormous chamber. Team Charm arrived at the chamber moments later.

Near the back of the room was a group of statues. A bit of grass grew on the stone floor, and the chamber was well lit, despite being underground.

A loud, robotic voice echoed throughout the chamber.

"IF YOU WISH TO FIND THE TREASURE, THEN SHOW YOUR TRUE POWER."

There was a flash, and the statues at the back of the room turned into Pokémon. Six Bronzongs and four Hitmonlee made this group of hostile Pokémon.

At the very back of the room was another guardian. It was mainly white in color with black bands on its arms and legs. Yellow "rings" were on its shoulders and hands, as well as its face. An array of colored dots decorated its face, and on its head and feet were grassy shrubs.

"Alright, we'll work together on this one, right, boys and girls?" Lopunny said.

"Yeah!" went the others.

Steve started the battle by charging in and punching one Hitmonlee. Andy followed up with a good Quick Attack to another.

Lopunny hopped high into the air and slammed both feet onto a Bronzong, sending it back and knocking it out.

Medicham rushed in and spun, kicking another Bronzong with a foot. It wasn't taken down, although it hovered backwards from the attack.

Gardevoir held out a hand and blasted a Hitmonlee with a psychic attack.

A Hitmonlee kicked Steve in the stomach, sending the Riolu back. Andy used Agility to speed up himself and his fellow explorers.

"Thanks for the assist!" Steve retaliated with his own kick to the Hitmonlee, and it went down.

Andy continued to give his friends incredible speed with his Agility move. With blinding speed, Team Charm and Team Galaxy took the minions down.

The giant in the back remained. It walked slowly towards the explorers with booming steps.

Steve leapt and Force Palmed the giant. Andy used Thunder to rain down a powerful lightning bolt upon the Pokémon.

The giant didn't react to the attacks and raised a fist.

Steve and Andy dodged the fist as it connected with the ground. The ground under the giant's fist cracked, sending a dust cloud into the air.

Andy landed to the side, coughing. "What is this Pokémon?" he asked.

"It's called _Regigigas_!" Gardevoir answered. "It's slow, but we may be able to take it down if we work together!"

With their combined attacks, Team Charm and Team Galaxy damaged Regigigas some more. Unfazed by any attack as always, it swiped with a hand, knocking everyone except Steve and Medicham away.

Medicham recovered and used her Force Palm on Regigigas. The giant actually reacted to the attack and tilted backwards a little.

"Hey, that worked!" Medicham said.

"Let's do it together!" Steve punched his fists together in readiness.

Medicham and Steve dashed right to Regigigas, and used their Force Palms at the same time.

Surprisingly, the two attacks were enough to tip the giant over even more, before it fell backwards with a loud thud.

"Yes!" Steve jumped in victory.

Lopunny, Gardevoir, and Andy stood up.

"We did it!" Andy cheered.

"That, we did, dears," Lopunny said, patting the Pikachu on the head, causing him to giggle.

"We defeated Regigigas," Gardevoir spoke. "What do we do now?"

As if answering her question, a large tablet of stone appeared in the center of the room after a bright flash. Steve stepped over to it and saw something inscribed on it.

"_To open the way to treasure, close your eyes and allow your Aura to flow into the ground,_" he read aloud. Steve glanced at the others, and they all nodded in agreement. Turning back to the stone, he steadied himself.

Shutting his eyes, he relaxed. He felt his Aura leave him and flow into the ground.

As Steve opened his eyes, a wave of energy burst from the stone tablet, sweeping the entire room. Everyone was startled by it, but the wave didn't do anything harmful. Then there was a rumbling noise.

"Hey! Regigigas is getting up!" Andy cried.

"We gotta fight that thing again?!" Steve shouted incredulously

That wasn't the case, however. The giant stood up and jumped into the air, an amazing feat given its size, and stomped the ground, far from where everyone was standing. This caused a massive earthquake that shook the entire cave.

"Run!" Steve shouted, and all five Pokémon ran as fast as their feet could take them out of the collapsing cave.

When everyone got out, they stopped to catch their breaths.

"Is everyone okay?" Steve asked, panting.

"All accounted for," Gardevoir replied, also breathing hard.

Steve looked back, and to his slight shock, Aegis Cave was still intact. The shaking didn't appear to do any damage.

"Wow! Look at that!" Andy shouted, jumping up and down, pointing.

Everyone else looked to where the Pikachu was pointing excitedly, and gasped.

On a cliff wall in the distance, an entrance to another cave was visible. A stone had apparently slid out of the way to reveal it.

"Did Regigigas make that appear?" Andy asked.

"Probably," Steve answered. "We all saw what it did."

Lopunny, Gardevoir, and Medicham gathered in a group, celebrating the discovery in excitement.

Steve and Andy couldn't help but smile as well.

Team Charm's leader looked at the two boys. "It's not our success; it's yours," she congratulated them. "Good work, Team Galaxy."

"That new dungeon's all yours, kids," Medicham added.

"Thanks a lot, Team Charm," Steve said with gratitude.

"Couldn't've done it without you," Andy added, smiling widely.

"Bye, darlings!" Lopunny said, leaving with her team.

"Bye!" Steve and his partner waved to the departing Team Charm.

* * *

"Ahh!" Steve flopped into his bed. "What a day!"

"Yeah," Andy agreed, lying down as well.

It was late at night, many hours after they had gone on the exploration in Aegis Cave.

"So, what do you wanna do tomorrow?" Steve asked.

"Probably check out that new dungeon," Andy replied, and they both fell asleep.

What they didn't know, was that they wouldn't be going to those ruins anytime soon.


	26. Nightmare

**Chapter 26: Nightmare**

It was a dark and stormy night.

Rain was falling heavily, the wind blew with brute force, and lightning flashed every several minutes.

"It's really raining, isn't it?" Andy commented, staring out through the opening in their base. "There hasn't been a storm in while."

It had been several days after Team Galaxy explored with Team Charm.

"Hey you know what?" Steve said, "remember how our adventure to prevent time from stopping?" His partner nodded. "It feels like that happened a long time ago, even though it's only been a few months."

"It does feel that way," Andy mused. "Going into the future with you; fighting Dialga at Temporal Tower; it does really feel like it all happened a long time ago."

Steve nodded. "Now that time's back to normal, everyone can evolve at Luminous Spring again."

"Everyone except us," Andy corrected. "That voice at the spring told us that because space is distorting, we can't evolve."

"But what does it all mean?" Steve wondered.

Lightning flashed outside, followed by the sound of thunder.

"The storm must be picking up," Andy murmured, looking back outside.

"We should really get some sleep now," Steve said, laying down in his bed. "Good night."

* * *

In a forest, a shadowy figure hovered around in the heavy rain.

"My plans are proceeding nicely," he said darkly. "I failed to destroy time, but things will be different now."

The dark figure noticed something and turned. "Someone's coming! It's Cresselia… that persistent pest! I mustn't be caught!"

There was a flash, and the figure vanished.

Cresselia soon hovered over to the place where the figure had been seconds ago. She looked around, seeing no one.

"He got away again!" she said, frustrated. "He always slips away before I can catch him!" She took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"I can't give up. He has to be caught. The fabric of space being distorted like this must stop before it accelerates further! I must stop him!"

* * *

"_I'm having this dream again?" Steve was dreaming of the colorful place again. He felt a presence enter his mind, like last time. It was Cresselia. _

"_T__ell me more about what you said last time," Steve said. "You said that me being here is gonna destroy the world. What did you mean by that?"_

"_You are a human who came from the future," Cresselia replied. "You are not of this world, and that is creating the distortion in the fabric of space."_

"_Distortion in the fabric of space?" Steve echoed._

"_And if this distortion of space were to expand," Cresselia continued, "the world would be ruined. Both of you are not allowed to exist in this world!" she declared._

"_Why not?! We haven't done anything wrong!"_

_Cresselia flashed, the light causing Steve pain, even in his dream._

"_You exist here," Cresselia said coldly. "If you remain…" She flashed again, giving Steve even more pain._

"_The world will be destroyed!"_

_Cresselia disappeared in more flashes, causing Steve to cry out in his sleep._

Yelping, he shot up from his bed. He looked around and sighed in relief. It was just a dream, and he was back in his base. His heart was racing madly in his chest.

_Calm down… it was just a dream. But if felt so real…_

Wiping the sweat off his face, he lay back down and fell asleep. He wasn't plagued by anymore dreams that night.

The next morning, Andy had woken up before Steve.

"Come on, Steve! Up and at 'em!" the Pikachu chirped, and his partner sat up and yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"Boy, you seem happier than usual," Steve said, noting Andy's cheerfulness. The Pikachu was even more cheerful than usual.

"Ah, you know," Andy said as Steve headed out. The Pikachu's smile faltered a little, before he followed his partner out.

They were just leaving when they heard Marill call out to them.

"Steve! Andy!" The little blue mouse Pokémon ran up to them, huffing.

"Hey, Marill!" Andy greeted. "Haven't seen you in a while!"

"Is there something wrong?" Steve asked, seeing Marill's panicked expression.

"Yes! There's something wrong with Azurill! I don't know why!"

Steve and Andy glanced at each other.

"I brought him to the guild! Hurry!" Marill and the two explorers quickly headed for the guild.

Back in their old room in the guild, everyone was standing nervously over a sleeping Azurill. He was moaning softly in his sleep, as if he was suffering from something.

"What's the matter with him?" Andy asked, worried.

"He's been sleeping for long time," Marill said, "but he won't wake up."

"What?!" Steve exclaimed, shocked. "He won't wake up?"

"Yes," Marill sadly confirmed. "I've been trying to wake him up, but nothing's worked. I got really worried, so I brought him to the guild."

"Urf…" Azurill moaned in his sleep. "Urrrff…"

"He's been like that the whole time he's been asleep," Marill said. "Is he having a bad dream?"

"The way the little fellow is tossing and turning, it looks like he's having a nightmare, hey, hey," Corphish spoke up.

"Hey, Chatot," Steve said to him. "Do you have any ideas on how we can wake up Azurill?"

Chatot thought for a moment, then sighed.

"Unfortunately, I don't know. To be locked in a nightmare, unable to wake for days… I've never heard of such a thing."

"Since he's asleep, we can't feed him anything like berries," Chimecho pointed out.

"Gosh, who'd know a way of waking Azurill up?" Sunflora said.

"Uh, everyone?" Bidoof got everyone's attention. "Can I say something?"

"What is it, Bidoof?" Steve asked.

"I got to thinking… since we can't make the nightmare go away, if we somehow figure out what kind of nightmare he's having, maybe we can figure out why little Azurill can't wake up, by golly," Bidoof explained.

"Are you saying that we should look INTO Azurill's dream?" Loudred asked. "HOW are we gonna do something like THAT?"

"Actually, that might be possible," Chatot spoke up.

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted.

"How?" Steve wondered.

"We find Drowzee," Chatot answered simply. "If anyone can do it, he can."

"Drowzee? Isn't that…?" Andy began.

"He's the first outlaw we've ever caught," Steve reminded him.

"Yeah! I remember him now!" Andy brightened, remembering. He turned to Chatot, a little confused. "But why Drowzee?" he asked.

"This is just a rumor, but they say that Drowzee has the ability to enter other's dreams," Chatot explained.

"Really? He can go into dreams?" Andy cried, surprised.

"This is only a rumor, mind you," Chatot responded. "However, the possibility exists."

"I get it," Steve said. "If we ask Drowzee, maybe he can get into Azurill's nightmare!"

A Magnemite was also in the room. Steve asked him what became of Drowzee after his arrest.

"DROWZEE HAS EXPRESSED REMORSE AND VOWED NEVER TO BREAK THE LAW AGAIN, SO WE DECIDED TO RELEASE HIM," the Magnemite explained.

"You let him go?" Steve said, a bit surprised. "Are you sure he's all good now?"

"It sounds a little sketchy, hey, hey," Corphish added.

"Corphish, now's not the time to be quibbing over that," Sunflora scolded him. "So, where is Drowzee now?" she asked the Magnemite.

"HE HAS GONE AWAY TO CLEANSE HIS MIND AND SPIRIT AT MT. TRAVAIL."

"Mt. Travail?" Chatot echoed. "That would be in the mountainous region."

"So that's where Drowzee is," Steve mused. "We have to go there."

"Come on, Steve! Let's go to Mt. Travail!" Andy said.

"Guys…" Marill sniffled.

"We just need a little more time," Steve told him. "It's gonna be alright, Marill."

"You guys… always help us… Thank you so much," Marill said gratefully.

"It's decided then," Wigglytuff spoke for the first time since they had gotten in the room. "I know everyone is worried about Azurill, but we should let Team Galaxy handle it. Everyone else should go on as usual!" he said in his usual cheery tone.

"Alright, everyone! Time for work!" Chatot announced.

"HOORAY!" everyone bellowed.

"You're in charge of finding Drowzee," Wigglytuff said to Team Galaxy. "We're counting on you!"

"You can count on us, Guildmaster!" Steve raised a paw to his forehead in a salute, and he and his partner headed out.

* * *

After a long walk, they finally arrived at Mt. Travail.

"This must be Mt. Travail," Andy said, craning his head up to look at the top.

"We need Drowzee to help us figure out why Azurill won't wake up," Steve said, reaffirming their mission. "There's no time to lose!"

The two of them nodded and went into the cave entrance to go up the mountain.

Mt. Travail was a quite a difficult dungeon. It was much harder than Mt. Bristle, according to Andy. They frequently went into low hanging clouds which turned into fog.

Flying and fighting-types were in the mountain as well. Mankey, Primeape, Hitmonchan, and other Pokémon attacked the team.

Team Galaxy had climbed about half-way up the mountain when they had to rest.

"So, what should we say to Drowzee when we meet him again?" Steve asked, munching on an apple.

"I dunno," Andy replied, eating his own apple. "Just tell him that we need his help, I guess."

Steve was sure Drowzee would remember them after what happened. They would just have to ask and see.

A long, grueling climb up the mountain later, Team Galaxy finally reached the top.

"Hey, isn't that Drowzee over there?" Andy pointed at the yellow and brown Pokémon who was just staring over the edge at the landscape.

"Drowzee?" Steve began. The Pokémon in question whirled around, looking alarmed.

"Wah! You two?" Drowzee cried. "I-I haven't done anything! I haven't kidnapped anymore kids! I've even kept my nose clean!"

"Wait!" Steve raised both paws in front of himself in a sign that he meant no harm. "We're not here to arrest you. We came because we need your help."

"Huh? Me?" Drowzee blinked, confused at why the explorers who got him arrested would need his help. "You need my help?"

"Yep." Andy nodded. "You remember that little Azurill, right? He's been sleeping and experiencing a nightmare and won't wake up."

"That Azurill kid?" Drowzee said.

"No one knows why he won't wake up," Steve said. "Then we heard maybe you can go into dreams, Drowzee. That's why we came looking for you."

Drowzee said nothing, being deep in thought.

"Will you help us?" Andy pleaded, "please?"

Drowzee looked off to the side, a pained expression on his face.

"I… I did a terrible thing to that little Azurill back then," he said. "I don't know if doing this would ever make up for it, but if it would help Azurill even a little…" He turned back to the two explorers.

"I want to make it up to him. I'd be glad to help."

Steve smiled. "Thanks."

"Let's not waste any time!" Drowzee said.

The trio hurriedly went down the mountain and headed back for Treasure Town.

* * *

Back in the guild, Steve, Andy, Marill, and Drowzee were looking over Azurill's sleeping form.

"How's it going, Drowzee?" Andy asked. "Can you do something?"

Drowzee looked up from examining Azurill.

"You two," he addressed the two explorers. "I want you to get ready, because I'm going to send the both of you into Azurill's dream."

"What?" Andy was shocked to hear this. "You can do that?"

"That's right," Drowzee confirmed. "It's possible for you to go into Azurill's dream."

Andy turned to Marill, excited. "Did you hear that, Marill? We're gonna save your brother!"

"Yay!" Marill cheered.

"But I want you to be extra careful when you're inside this kid's dream," Drowzee warned. "There's something wrong about it. I just have a bad feeling."

"Well, I don't care!" Steve exclaimed. "We gotta save Azurill!"

Drowzee nodded. "One more thing… I can only send the two of you into the dream. I could go with you, but I feel like I'll only slow you down. I'm sorry if I couldn't do more for you."

"No, you're great." Andy shook his head. "Just sending us into the dream is plenty."

"So, are you two ready to go into the dream?" Drowzee asked them.

"We're always ready for an exploration," Steve said determinedly.

"Good. I'm going to send you into Azurill's dream." Drowzee turned to Marill. "Stand back." Marill stepped back out of the way and Drowzee closed his eyes, concentrating. Soon, a purple wave of energy scooped up Steve and Andy, transporting them into the world of Azurill's dream.

When they were transported inside, they looked around. The floor was a purple color and the walls seemed to be made out of light purple rocks.

The dream was dark. It was also completely silent. It didn't look or sound like a dream a kid like Azurill would have.

"Is this the inside of the dream?" Andy asked.

"_Steve! Andy! Can you hear me?_" Drowzee's voice echoed from the sky. "_It's me, Drowzee!_"

"Yeah! We hear you!" Steve called back.

"_Good. It's sounds like you're safely inside,_" Drowzee said. "_As I've said before, there's something very bad about this dream. Be careful in there._"

"Okay! Thanks, Drowzee!" Andy yelled.

"Let's go," Steve said, and they ran in to explore Azurill's dream.

Team Galaxy encountered many Normal-type Pokémon in the dream. Steve, being a Fighting-type, took them down easily with his Force Palms. But there were Psychic-types too, and Andy defeated those.

"This place is weird," Steve remarked as he took down a Miltank, a pink cow-like Pokémon.

"Yeah, It's creeping me out," Andy responded, electrocuting an Espeon.

"Let's just find a way to wake Azurill up," Steve said. Andy nodded, and they continued on.

Continuing deeper, they emerged into a giant, long hallway after a long exploration.

"It looks like just one long path from here," Andy commented. "Let's keep going some more."

They took two steps when a familiar voice spoke.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here."

"_Cresselia?_" Steve and Andy said at the same time. Steve glanced at his partner in slight surprise.

"Where are you? Come out!" Andy demanded.

There was a flash, and Cresselia was hovering before them.

"I don't know how you've come here, but I find your visit ever so convenient!" she said, sounding pleasantly surprised.

"Tell me, is it really true that we have to disappear?!" Andy said desperately.

_Andy's been having the same dreams as me? _Steve looked at his partner in shock.

"What I told you in your dreams is true," Cresselia said. "You two are not supposed to exist in this world."

"Could you explain something, Cresselia?" Andy asked her, "how would the world be destroyed?"

"If the distortion of space expands, so will the power of darkness," Cresselia explained. "Eventually the world will become enveloped within a nightmare."

"Enveloped within a nightmare?" Andy repeated.

"Yes. Do you know where we are at this very moment?" Cresselia said.

"We're in Azurill's nightmare, aren't we?" Steve answered.

"That is correct," Cresselia confirmed. "He will remain trapped by this nightmare, never to awaken again. For now, only Azurill is afflicted.

"But soon, other Pokémon will be drawn in by the nightmare's influence. More and more Pokémon will fall into the unending sleep and ultimately, all Pokémon will be locked in this nightmare without end."

"How can all this be stopped?" Steve asked.

"There is but one way to eliminate the distortion," Cresselia responded. "That is… for you to disappear!"

"What?!" Andy exclaimed. "Why?!"

"I have been waiting for this opportunity," Cresselia said. She hovered closer and the explorers backed up a step.

"Wait a minute!" Steve yelled. "You can't just make us disappear! We want to know more about what's happening!"

"So you would rather see all Pokémon swallowed by the darkness?" Cresselia retorted.

"That's not… that's not what we want," Andy said. "Cresselia. Is this really true? If we disappear, will the world really be saved?"

"Yes, it will be saved," Cresselia confirmed. "For it is only your existence that is driving the world to ruin!"

She hovered even closer to the two explorers.

"I'm very sorry that I must do this… Prepare to disappear!" There was a flash. "It must be done! The world must be saved!"

Steve and Andy screamed as there were more flashes, but something interrupted them.

"Hey! Steve? Andy?" called a voice. "Where are you?"

"Gah! Interrupted!" Cresselia shouted, surprised. "And my work here was nearly finished!" She backed off from the two explorers.

"I was interrupted this time," she growled, "but I will see to it that you two disappear! Of course, if you want to save the world on your own, consider... _removing _yourselves first. Farewell!" Cresselia's form blinked then vanished.

Andy collapsed with relief, sitting down. "Whew! Th-that was close!"

"Hey! There you are!" the same voice from before shouted. Drowzee came into the room.

"Drowzee!" Andy exclaimed.

"You were taking so long to come back," Drowzee said. "I got worried, so I decided to come look for you." He glanced around, studying the walls and the oppressing atmosphere. "We shouldn't stay here. Let's go back to the guild for the time being."

Steve and Andy nodded, before Drowzee brought the three of them back out of the dream.

* * *

Azurill was still asleep, trapped in his nightmare. Steve and Andy explained what they had just seen to everyone who was in the room.

"I see, so you encountered Cresselia," Chatot said. "She's a legendary Pokémon. It's said she represents the crescent moon and her light soothes those in pain."

_Cresselia didn't seem all that friendly, _Steve thought.

"Did she mention anything on how to help this kid?" Drowzee asked hopefully.

"_No!_" Andy quickly lied. "She didn't say anything about that!"

The Pikachu's loud and sudden outburst made Drowzee jump.

"Geez, I was just asking," he said apologetically.

The guild members discussed the space distortion issue among themselves. The only thing they had found out was how to cure Azurill's condition, but Steve and Andy kept that information to themselves.

"I'm all tired from the trip," Andy said. "We're gonna go home, now. Uh, thanks, Drowzee."

Steve followed his partner out of the guild.

Team Galaxy returned to their base. It was evening.

"I just lied back there! Andy exclaimed. "I just blurted it out! One big lie!"

"Well, we do know there's a way to stop the distortion," Steve said. "We gotta disappear from the world. But should we have told everyone?"

"I don't know," Andy replied, looking just as depressed as his partner. "What are we supposed to do now? If we vanished, would the world be saved?" He sighed, looking at the base entrance. "In that case, maybe that's the best thing to do…"

"What?!" Steve screamed, making Andy jump. "You would do that? What if Cresselia's lying?! What if there's another way?"

"I don't know, okay?!" Andy snapped. "I just don't know what to think, and I'm tired from all this worrying!" The Pikachu lay down in his bed, miserable. "I just want to sleep…" he whispered.

Steve sighed. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to snap like that, it's just… there's just gotta be another way we can solve this mess."

The Riolu lay down and got comfortable in his bed.

"We better get some sleep. Good night, Andy."

"Good night, Steve," Andy responded.

The two of them drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Steve stayed awake in the middle of the night, pondering over the things that had happened.

_Ugh… I can't sleep._ Steve turned his head towards his partner, who was dozing away. _Andy's still asleep, I guess._

_But I have to wonder… I get that we're making space distort, but how does that make the world go to ruin? I just can't believe it. I thought it was just a dream the first time, but the second dream… that's when Cresselia told me._

_Come to think of it, the morning after I had that dream, Andy seemed more cheerful than usual. But he had just woke from the same dream that I had! Guess he wanted to be extra cheerful around me to hide it. Andy had to be scared, though. He was more worried about me, I guess._

Steve stared at the ceiling. _Then in Azurill's nightmare, Cresselia tried to obliterate us. I felt crushed by that, but… but… But that's why I have to stay strong! I have to stay strong… for the both of us._

The Riolu rolled over on his side and tried to get some sleep.

Perhaps a few hours later, Steve woke up again. He looked at Andy's bed, but to his surprise, his partner was gone.

"Where did Andy go?" he wondered. Looking around, he couldn't see the Pikachu anywhere. "Maybe he went outside." Yawning, he slowly trudged up the stairs out of the base.

At the top of the bluff, Andy was standing near the edge, gazing at the horizon. Steve saw him, and walked over.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" Steve said.

"I couldn't sleep at all." Andy shook his head. "Hey, Steve? Can't we stay in this world? Should we really disappear?" he asked his partner.

"I… I don't know…" was Steve's response.

Andy sighed dejectedly. "You don't know? But you're thinking we should vanish, right?"

Steve shook his head at that. "There's something weird about the whole thing."

"Something's weird?" Andy slightly tilted his head in confusion. "What's weird?"

"The whole space distortion idea!" Steve answered. "I just don't get it!"

"I don't really understand it either," Andy added. "But Cresselia told us that we're causing the distortion. Is it really true?"

Steve sighed. "Something is different about disappearing this time around... I know something is different, but what is it?"

Andy thought about it for a moment. Then Steve suddenly gasped, a lightbulb going off in his head.

"That's it! It's the other way around!" he exclaimed. "This time, it's us disappearing _to _save the world, not disappearing from the world _because _of it. We actually have a choice this time! What if Cresselia is wrong? Even if we _do_ cause the problem, there must be another way!" Steve said excitedly, his hope rising.

Andy stared at his partner, a bit astonished by the theory.

Behind them, the sun's first rays were shining on the two Pokémon. They turned, noticing the sun coming up.

"The sun's rising," Steve murmured. "It's beautiful… it's another beautiful morning."

"Oh, Steve," Andy said, "seeing the sun come up this way makes me remember that I've seen the sunrise from here before with Grovyle."

"With Grovyle?" Steve repeated.

Andy nodded. "Remember when we first came back from the future? We slept here?" His partner nodded, remembering. "Grovyle asked me something. He said that we both held on, even though we thought it was impossible.

"I didn't give up when we were trying to escape from the future. I guess Grovyle thought that was strange. That's why he asked me why I wouldn't give up. I told him… that you stood by me, Steve."

"Me?" Steve pointed at himself, a bit stunned.

"Yeah," Andy responded. "I managed to be brave because you were always with me. That's what Grovyle asked me about." The Pikachu looked out at the sea.

"If you're not giving up, I'm not giving up either!" Andy said, determined.

"Andy…" Steve breathed, overjoyed at his partner's determination.

"There's gotta be something we can do about this!" Andy cried. "There's gotta be another way of fixing things without us having to disappear!"

"That's the Andy I know!" Steve said, smiling widely.

"Yeah! We have to keep going, Steve!"

"Right on, buddy!" the Riolu replied and the two explorers did their high five in the air.


	27. Rift

**Chapter 27: Rift**

The sun was already high in the sky. Steve and Andy had gotten back inside their base.

"Y'know, I've been thinking," Steve said. "It was time that was being frozen before, right?"

"Yeah, and now space is being distorted," Andy added. He rubbed his head in confusion. "All of this seems so weird."

"I got a feeling they're related somehow." Steve crossed his arms, in thought.

The two of them went silent, trying to think things over. Then Andy suddenly had an idea. "You think Lapras might know something about all this?" he asked.

Steve nodded. "Probably."

"Well, then let's go see her!" Andy said.

The team left their base and went through Treasure Town. They went down the path to the beach. Lapras was already waiting for them there.

"Say, Lapras," Andy began," we're trying to find out stuff about the distortions in space. Do you know something, maybe?"

"I'm sorry, but I do not know much," Lapras answered. "I do know is there is an entity similar to Dialga who rules space itself. He is called _Palkia_."

"Palkia?" Steve crossed his arms.

"He dwells at a place known as _Spacial Rift," _she continued. "I do not know where it is, much less how to get there. I doubt you will be able to find him. I'm sorry," she finished in her usual gentle voice.

"Well, thanks anyways, Lapras," Andy said, smiling gratefully.

"I know what is happening, and I wish the two of you luck." Lapras turned and swam back into the ocean.

Steve and Andy sighed in disappointment after she was gone.

"What do we do now?" Steve asked.

"I don't know, but we'll just have to come with something later," Andy replied. It was clear in his tone that he doubted any answers would come to them.

* * *

That night, Team Galaxy was sound asleep.

Perhaps around midnight, there was a sound. It sounded like a rumble, echoing and distant. A few seconds later, there was actual rumbling. The noise was enough to make Steve and Andy wake up.

"Ugh, what is it?" Steve sat up, rubbing his eyes. "I'm trying to sleep..."

"Is everything... shaking?" Andy looked around, drowsy. "What's... going on?"

Then out of nowhere, a deafening roar echoed throughout their home, jolting both of them wide awake.

"AHHH!" Andy screamed.

"What was that?!" Steve frantically glanced around for the source of the noise.

A giant yellow ball of energy flew into the cave with a loud crash. The energy ball then broke open to reveal an enormous Pokémon.

When Steve saw it, he vaguely recalled the murals they had seen with Grovyle when they were in the Hidden Land. The figure standing before them looked just like the one that had its back to Dialga in that picture.

The Pokémon was white with several pink lines on its body. It had a long neck and the shoulders were rounded. Each had what looked like a pearl emblazoned in the center. Its claws on its hands and feet looked dangerous.

"**I have finally found you!**" the giant Pokémon bellowed, clearly furious.

"_What?!_" both explorers cried out in utter confusion. This Pokémon just crashed into their home in the middle of the night!

"**I am Palkia! You will not escape me!**" The gems on the Pokémon's shoulders shined with power. Steve and his partner yelped in surprise when the yellow energy ball from earlier enveloped the three of them. It hovered out of the base and shot across the ocean.

A minute or so later, the ball broke and dumped Team Galaxy on the ground. Steve didn't recognize any of the surroundings at all. Palkia appeared and landed on his feet.

"**Now that you're in my domain, there is no escape!**" Palika shouted. "**I will end this now!**" He stomped forward.

Steve and Andy scrambled to their feet and dashed away from the mad Pokémon. They were too panicked to do anything but run.

They soon came to a ledge. It was clear they were somewhere up high. Steve skid to a stop, while Andy bumped into him from behind.

"Whoa!" The Riolu flailed his arms and almost fell.

"I gotcha!" Andy caught his partner before he fell off. The two of them looked behind to see Palkia still advancing on them in fury.

"Hey, wait!" Steve yelled but Palkia swiped at them with a claw. Steve and Andy jumped backward to dodge, only to fall over the edge of the cliff.

The two explorers screamed, falling for several seconds before landing on a surface.

"Ow-ow-ow," Andy groaned, getting up. "What just happened?"

"Looks like Palkia found us," Steve replied, looking up. "He just broke into our house and kidnapped us!"

"I don't think he'll listen to reason," Andy said, looking around. "We need to get out of here."

Steve didn't argue with that. He stood up and followed Andy, running away.

They found they were somewhere dark. Dark clouds were at their feet, or what seemed to be dark clouds. Steve had no idea where they were, until he remembered what Lapras told them.

"Is this Spacial Rift?" Steve asked.

"I guess so," Andy replied. "Palkia said this is his domain or something."

"We can't let him catch us," Steve said.

After running further they came to a dead end at a wall.

"A wall? No exit?" Steve said, raising his arms up in irritation.

"Quick! Let's turn back!" Andy cried, before a there was a loud crash. Palkia appeared.

"**I've already told you! This is my domain! There is no escape!**"

"We're just gonna have to fight him and calm him down enough to talk." Steve lightly punched his paws together.

Andy looked nervous about doing this, but posed himself for a fight.

Palkia roared and shot out a wave of immense power. Steve and Andy leapt over the wave of twisting energy.

Steve jumped and threw a Force Palm at the space lord's face. Palkia roared angrily and slashed at the Riolu with his claws. Steve cried out, getting knocked back.

Andy summoned his electricity, shocking the furious space lord. Palkia roared, swiping at the Pikachu, who jumped back.

"Palkia, would you wait up a minute?!" Andy shouted, but their opponent would not listen.

Steve shot his Aura Sphere at the legendary Pokémon, and Andy tackled with Quick Attack. Palkia shook off the attacks and charged another attack. He shot the wave of energy at the Riolu.

"Ack!" Steve cried, getting knocked backwards by the attack.

Andy rushed forward and used his Thunderbolt, unleashing bolts of lightning all around. Most of them struck the legendary Pokémon. Palkia staggered back, roaring in fury.

"**You will pay for disrupting space!**" he bellowed, and stomped towards the two explorers. "**To prevent it… you must be wiped from existence!**"

"No! There must be another way!" Andy tried to reason with him. "You govern space and dimension, don't you, Palkia? Can't you fix the distortion yourself?"

"**It is true that I can bend space to my will,**" Palkia answered. "**But, for the first time ever, I am unable to control a part of it! This is all your doing!**" he accused them. "**There is now but one way to save the world… and that is for you to be erased from this world forever!**"

"Palkia's saying the same things Cresselia did," Andy told his partner. "Maybe they're right about us… maybe we _do_ have to disappear."

"Andy!" Steve exclaimed. "How can you say that?"

"**I feel sorry for you,**" Palkia said. "**But this must be done.**"

"No…" Steve muttered.

"Ah, here you are… I've found you at last," a familiar voice said.

There was a flash, and Cresselia appeared behind Palkia.

"C-Cresselia!" Andy stammered. She glanced around.

"The spreading darkness engulfs even this place," she said. Palkia stepped aside, as she approached the two explorers.

"You must be eliminated as soon as possible," Cresselia said, "before we finally pass the point of no return." She hovered closer, and the two explorers backed up.

"Steve," Andy said to his partner. "We didn't give up, and we did what we could. After everything we did, was it all for nothing?"

"I… I…" Steve stammered, not knowing for sure.

"So are you ready for your end?" Cresselia asked.

"Just tell us one thing," Steve said, "if we disappear, will the world _really_ be saved?"

"Yes," she answered. "It absolutely will, without a doubt. Are you ready?"

"If we have to..." Andy said softly, "if we really have to disappear… if that will save the world…"

_No…_ _After all this time, Andy's starting to fall apart, and so am I… But do we really have to do this? Is this the right thing to do?_

"**Wait, Cresselia,**" Palkia spoke up. "**Blinded by fury, I attacked them earlier. But upon seeing them now, they do not seem driven by malice or wickedness. Are they truly evil?**"

"Don't be fooled by appearances, Palkia," she said. "If we get rid of them now, all will be saved."

_Even Palkia's getting suspicious now, _Steve thought. _Something's wrong here! All of this is based on what Cresselia says!_

Cresselia hovered even closer. "I will make you disappear now!"

"No!" Andy yelled. "You can't!"

"I will! Take this!" Cresselia bellowed and rushed at them. Steve and Andy screamed, waiting for the inevitable.

"_Enough!_"

There was a flash, and another Cresselia appeared.

"What?" Andy's eyes darted between the two.

"There are _two _Cresselia?" Steve asked, wondering the same thing. The second Cresselia flashed, and revealed the first one to be another Pokémon.

"Wah!" Andy cried upon seeing the new figure.

The Pokémon was mostly black with a long, white head. It had a red collar of sorts around its neck. It had no legs, instead hovering over the ground. Its single blue eye shined with malice.

"**What? Who is this?**" Palkia demanded.

"I arrived just in time!" Cresselia came forward and rammed the dark Pokémon, knocking it back.

"Blast you… Cresselia!" the mysterious Pokémon cursed. "I've been foiled, just as I was about to dispose of those meddlers once and for all!"

"Steve, Andy, Palkia, please listen," Cresselia said to them. "You have been lied to all this time! By _Darkrai_!"

"**What?!**" Palkia roared, looking at the dark Pokémon.

"The 'Cresselia' you thought you knew until now, was not me!" the real one explained. "That fake was nothing more than an illusion and mockery of me made by him!"

_So it was just an impostor?_ Steve said in his head.

"Darkrai!" Cresselia turned to him. "Using an illusion of me to trick others is so typical of you. But that you'd personally emerge from the shadows to dispose of these two… that is very unlike you," she said to the shadow Pokémon.

"I had my reasons for doing so!" Darkrai retorted. "You two!" He raised a hand, pointing at the two explorers.

"Huh?" Andy jumped, startled that Darkrai was talking to them.

"The one truly responsible for exploiting the space distortion to shroud the world in darkness… is _me_."

"So you're the one behind all this!" Steve shouted.

"You are more than welcome to try and stop me," Darkrai said calmly. "I will take my leave. Meet me in the _Dark Crater_."

"You're not getting away, Darkrai!" Cresselia exclaimed. She flew forward, attempting to stop him, but Darkrai vanished in a portal of darkness before she could get close.

"He's gone!" Andy cried.

"_You cannot catch me, Cresselia,_" Darkrai's voice echoed. "_I will be waiting in Dark Crater._"

"You can run, but you can't hide…" Steve said, his paws shaking.

* * *

In Treasure Town square, Team Galaxy, Cresselia, Drowzee, and some of the guild members were gathered around Marill and an awakened Azurill.

"Azurill!" Marill said, teary-eyed. " You woke up from your nightmare! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Cresselia had woken up the sleeping Azurill.

"Thank you, Miss Cresselia!" Marill thanked her.

"And Mister Drowzee, too!" Azurill added.

Drowzee looked astonished. "Huh? Me?"

The two brothers walked over to him. "Thank you very much, Mister Drowzee!" Azurill said.

"I have to thank you too!" Marill agreed. "You stayed to take care of my brother this whole time. Thank you!"

Drowzee looked embarrassed at that. "Well, shucks, it's the least I could do."

"Cresselia, what happened to Palkia?" Andy asked her.

"He is within Spacial Rift," she responded, "where he's attempting to take care of the distortion of space."

Chatot fluttered excitedly. "How remarkable! It's truly quite marvelous of you, Cresselia! I'd heard of your power to dispel darkness only in rumor, but it was all true! I must say, this is completely marvelous!"

"I want to ask you something, Cresselia," Andy said. "Who's Darkrai? And what does he want with us?"

"Darkrai is a being who is the complete opposite of me," she replied. "He has the power to trap those who sleep in nightmares." She turned to Team Galaxy. "Where did you meet my impostor?"

"We met the fake you in our dreams, I think," Steve said.

"That's right!" Andy exclaimed. "And we also met the impostor in Azurill's nightmare! In other words, it was still in a dream!"

"Darkrai has the power to create realistic illusions," Cresselia said. "He was using them to make you think you were seeing me in your dreams. It was all a trick to get you, so that you will both be eliminated."

Everyone who didn't know let out a "What?!" at hearing this.

"To remove Steve and Andy from this world?" Chatot cried. "That's inconceivable!"

"It's shocking that he wanted to get rid of you," Drowzee said, "but why would Darkrai plan something so complicated? Wouldn't it be faster to confront them directly in battle?"

"That's because Darkrai's a coward!" Steve claimed. "He's too scared to face us!"

"You have the right idea…" Cresselia said. "It was all out of fear of Steve and Andy."

"Darkrai is afraid of us?" Andy asked. "Really?"

"Yes," she responded. "Because the two of you had saved the world before, when you prevented the collapse of Temporal Tower. But who was the one who sought to paralyze the planet? It was none other than Darkrai."

Everyone gasped in shock of this revelation.

"So he _is_ the one behind the crisis at Temporal Tower and the Time Gears," Steve murmured.

"Darkrai intends to enshroud the world in darkness," Cresselia explained, "but he failed to do that with the destruction of Temporal Tower. After his failure, he turned his attention to the distortion of space to make it expand.""

"Darkrai's doing that?" Andy wondered. "But... aren't _we_ causing it because of us being here?"

"The distortion you cause if extremely small," Cresselia replied. "Furthermore, it won't expand on its own."

"Then… we..." Steve began, hopeful.

"Yes. The expanding space distortion has nothing to do with you," Cresselia answered. "It was blamed on you. It was all part of Darkrai's elaborate deception."

"Oh, Steve…" Andy turned to his partner, relief flooding through him. "I'm so glad that we're not to blame for the space problems," he said. "It's okay for us to still exist… we can still live in this world…"

"I knew Darkrai was lying!" Steve did a fist-bump with Andy. "Of course we can stay!"

Wigglytuff stepped forward. "I don't know what you two went through, but… if either of you went away, it'll make everyone really, really sad. It makes me happy that you're with us, Steve and Andy!" he said. "That's reason enough to keep living!"

"W-Wigglytuff…" Andy stammered, getting teary‑eyed.

"_Everyone_ in this world has a reason to live!" Wigglytuff continued. "So never think that you're not welcome here ever again. Stay full of cheer!" he finished in his ever so cheerful tone.

"Thank you, Wigglytuff," Steve said, his mood being lifted up by the Guildmaster's words.

Everyone was silent for several moments, before Corphish broke the silence.

"Hey, hey! That Darkrai! Talk about dishonest!" he shouted.

"He never comes out in the open," Cresselia said. "He does his evil work from the shadows. If you confront him, he'll always flee," she told Team Galaxy. "That's how Darkrai has always done things. But he's doing something so unlike him right now… He has invited you two to meet him."

"That's true," Steve said. "Darkrai told us to meet him at a place called Dark Crater."

"Cresselia, you believe that he told Steve and Andy to come to him for a reason, don't you?" Wigglytuff asked her. "Is it a trap?"

"Yes," she replied. "It is no doubt a trap."

Steve and Andy exchanged glances, nodding determinedly at each other.

"It doesn't matter if it's a trap or not!" Steve said. "If we don't stop Darkrai, he'll smother the whole world with darkness!"

"We have to do something!" Andy chipped in.

"We're going to Dark Crater!" Steve announced.

"Alright," Cresselia said. "I respect your decision. I will accompany you. I've pursued Darkrai for a long time to thwart his plan. But every time I caught up to him, he would escape. This time, he's waiting for us. I would like to settle this once and for all."

The other guild members, excited, also offered to help.

"I'm delighted by everyone's offer to help," she said, "but I'm afraid that Darkrai would be scared off if too many of us were to go. I insist that only the three of us will go. No one else."

Everyone nodded sadly, accepting the fact that they couldn't help.

"Don't worry, everyone!" Andy said. "We'll make sure to beat Darkrai and come back!"

Everyone cheered and offered Team Galaxy and Cresselia words of encouragement.

"We're going to Dark Crater where Darkrai's waiting!" Steve announced loudly. He, Andy, and Cresselia left the town square to get ready for their trip.

After taking several minutes to prepare, Team Galaxy and Cresselia were on the top of the bluff, staring out at the sea.

"To the northwest of here is a volcanic land," Cresselia said, turning back to the two explorers standing behind her. "The Dark Crater is located there."

"Okay, we'll go there and teach Darkrai who's boss!" Steve cracked his knuckles.

"Very well. Let us be on our way. Off we go to the Dark Crater!" Cresselia and Team Galaxy left to go find their enemy.

Darkrai had to be stopped.


	28. Darkrai

**Chapter 28: Darkrai**

After traveling for a long time, Team Galaxy and Cresselia finally reached an entrance to a cave. Waves of heat emanated from the entrance, suggesting the cave was hot inside. The walls around the entrance had several holes. Four torches hung on the walls, illuminating the dim area.

"So this is where Dark Crater is," Andy said, gazing into the cave entrance.

"There is no telling what Darkrai has in store for us. We must proceed with caution," Cresselia told them.

Steve and Andy nodded, and the three of them headed into the cave.

It was steamy and hot in the cave, given its location in a volcanic area.

Fire types were common in this dungeon. Combusken, fire chickens, frequently attacked them with their kicks, but Steve fought them with his punches. They also fought Flareon, which were yellow and orange foxes. Charmeleon, red lizards with a burning flame on their tail, were also encountered.

The trio reached a resting area after several hard battles and exploration.

"It's really hot in here, isn't it?" Steve said, wiping sweat off his brow.

"Yeah," Andy agreed. "And there are fire types everywhere."

After resting for a bit, they moved on.

Deeper into the cave, the walls were hot to the touch. Steve and Andy yelped when they accidently touched the burning walls a few times.

"Geez, the walls are burning!" Andy exclaimed.

"I can definitely see that," Steve said, his paws feeling like they had been put in an oven.

More fire types like Quilava, shrew like Pokémon that could ignite their backs on fire; Monferno, a monkey Pokémon; and Rapidash, horses with fiery manes and tails, appeared in this area.

This was a very difficult dungeon. Steve and Andy had to stay on their toes to get through. Cresselia, thankfully, helped them immensely.

The trio soon came to a room surrounded by lava. They stood on a giant rock with a flat surface. There was nowhere else to go, as the lava surrounded the rock, except for the path they had come from.

"This looks like the farthest we can go," Steve said, looking around. "Where's Darkrai?"

"You've kept me waiting," the Pokémon in question said, and he suddenly appeared before them.

"Darkrai!" Steve growled. "How nice of you to show up."

"I'm glad _you_ came," Darkrai replied. "You couldn't have ignored me while my plans were in motion."

"Why do you keep coming after us?" Andy demanded.

Darkrai chuckled darkly. "Because you two have interfered with my plans for a second time."

"You don't like that, do you? Why don't you stop messing with us?" Steve dared.

Darkrai simply smiled.

"Well, let me tell you a secret." He began to pace, hovering back and forth. "Steve, when you came to this world, something happened to you," he said.

_Something happened to me during our time travel?_ Steve thought.

"You became separated as a result of it," Darkrai continued. "You were also transformed into a Pokémon."

"I think I… remember something hitting me, and I felt pain all over…" Steve tried to recall.

"Naturally," Darkrai replied, "that very attack was caused by me."

"You… you did that to him?" Andy said, astonished.

"Yes," Darkrai confirmed. "Also, my plan is to engulf this world in darkness. I sabotaged Dialga's Temporal Tower because of its tie to time. That would have ultimately led to the planet's paralysis.

"However, Grovyle and Steve decided to interfere with my plans. I learned of their impending arrival from the future, and I attacked them as they traveled in time. But it wasn't enough.

"Do you know how you became a Pokémon, Steve?" Darkrai asked, and the Riolu shook his head. "You shielded Grovyle from my attack."

Steve gasped. "I did?"

"Yes, you absorbed the brunt of the attack I'd intended for Grovyle," Darkrai said. "It appears my attack and the powers of dimensions transformed you into a Pokémon."

"So that's what happened," Steve murmured.

_The reason why I transformed into a Pokémon… now I know._

"I assumed what I did was enough," Darkrai said. "I thought I'd gotten you out of the way."

"You really don't know how awesome I am, do you?" Steve remarked.

"You met with a trusted partner, and the two of you stopped the destruction of Temporal Tower," Darkrai said, disregarding the former human's remark. "Because I thought you weren't going to meddle, my original plan was a failure."

Then Cresselia spoke up for the first time since they'd arrived in that room.

"That's why you decided to get rid of Steve and Andy!" she said. "So they wouldn't be a bother to your plans! You tried to break their spirit, even going so far as to use an imposter of me!"

Darkrai remained silent as his nemesis continued her rant.

"Even now, you lured us here," Cresselia said, "so you could get rid of us all at once!"

"...Very good. I intend to do just what you say. But I've had a... _change of heart_," Darkrai claimed.

"_What?_" both explorers exclaimed, surprised to hear this.

"Both of you are brave," Darkrai explained. "It's a tragic waste to get rid of you forever. You've both have shown so much promise… _why not join me?_" He raised a hand to point at the explorers as his eye shined.

"Join you?" Andy repeated.

"Yes. Why not rule a world full of darkness alongside me?" Darkrai asked of them.

"Now you're asking us to join you? Never!" Steve crossed his arms in disbelief at Darkrai's offer.

"Don't believe his lies," Cresselia added.

Andy was silent, however. He seemed to be lost in thought, pondering Darkrai's offer to rule the world of darkness.

"We'll never join that guy, right, Andy?" Steve turned to his best friend.

"I think... I'll join Darkrai," Andy finally said.

"What?!" Steve cried, astonished. "How can you say something like that?!"

"We don't stand a chance against him anyway!" Andy shouted. He looked at Steve with a sorrowful expression. "It's pointless to fight back..." The Pikachu walked up and stood by Darkrai's side.

"Mwahahaha," he laughed darkly. "You chose wisely, young Pikachu."

"What are you doing, Andy?!" Steve shouted. The Pikachu looked away.

_Andy, my best friend... betraying me? What... just happened?_

"Join me, Steve. Come stand by my side," Darkrai beckoned him.

"Don't…" Cresselia looked at Steve.

"C'mon, please?" Andy pleaded. "You're my partner, aren't you? You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

Steve stood, conflicted thoughts flooding his mind. His mind told him to join Darkrai… but his heart was telling him not to. With a sigh of defeat, he walked forward.

"Your choice?" Darkrai said, pleased.

The Riolu was silent.

"A world of darkness is going to be awesome," Andy said in an almost monotone voice.

"You see?" Darkrai was amused. "Your trusted partner agrees with me."

_Is this really happening?_ _Andy joins Darkrai to cover the world in darkness, and now I'm being dragged into it too? That I'll join them in their takeover of the world? No… This isn't real..._

"No…" Steve growled, trembling with fury. He looked as if he was about to explode in rage.

"What was that?" Darkrai questioned.

"_No!_ _I won't join you!_" the Riolu finally bellowed.

With a cry, Steve leapt forward and launched his signature Force Palm right for Darkrai's face.

"Gaaah!" Darkrai yelped, unprepared as the palm strike hit him square in the face.

Steve did a backflip, and landed in front of Darkrai. The Riolu shielded his eyes as there was a flash of light. Lowering his arm when it subsided, he looked behind himself. To his delight, he saw Andy still standing next to Cresselia. His partner hadn't moved at all.

"Whoa!" the real Andy cried. "What did you just do, Steve?"

"Y-you!" Darkrai struck the Riolu, sending him sprawling to the ground. Andy gasped and ran to his partner's side.

"Are you okay?" he asked, helping Steve up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Steve replied.

"How?! How did you see through my illusion?!" Darkrai bellowed.

"You lied to me!" Steve shouted. "What you showed me was fake!"

"Blast it! I was going to win!" Darkrai spat. "You're not going to work with me?!"

"Of course not!" Steve scoffed, his orange eyes livid. "There's no way we'll do something like that! _Join you in a world of darkness?_ Not happening, pal!"

"Hmph, so be it. You've made the wrong choice. There is nothing left for me to say. I will annihilate you now." Darkrai's eye glowed.

Everything turned black for an instant. As soon as they could see again, Steve, Andy, and Cresselia were surrounded by Pokémon.

An Arbok, Aggron, Mismagius, Magcargo, Magmortar, and a Rhyperior surrounded Team Galaxy.

Arbok was a large purple snake with some sort of face pattern on the hood under its head. Aggron was a creature wearing silver plates of armor and a helmet. Mismagius was a purple hovering Ghost-type with a head that resembled a witch's hat. Magcargo was a red snail-like Pokemon with a small fire burning on its shell. Magmortar was another Fire-type Pokemon with an egg-shaped body and yellow arms that looked like cannons. Rhyperior was a Rock-type with a drill for a nose and orange plates covering its body.

"We're surrounded!" Andy stated the obvious.

"I knew that you'd do something like this!" Cresselia said to Darkrai.

"Say what you will," Darkrai replied. "This is where I will finally get rid of you. I will seize control of the darkened world… as its king. Attack!" he ordered his minions.

"_We're gonna show you what we're made of,_" Steve declared, cracking his knuckles.

The final battle began.

Steve threw one of his Totter Seeds to confuse the Rhyperior. Andy shocked another with his electrical attacks. Cresselia held her own, using her psychic attacks.

The Riolu Force Palmed the Aggron, and it recoiled. He leapt on its back to launch himself at the Arbok. With a mighty kick, Steve sent the purple snake flying. Dashing towards the confused Rhyperior, he crouched low and jumped, performing a powerful uppercut to its lower jaw. The Rock-type Pokémon fell backwards.

The Pikachu used Agility, and began striking the enemies with incredible speed. Andy alternated between his physical and electrical attacks, causing mayhem to the minions. Steve used his own increased speed to fly back and forth between the minions, striking one after another in a single, flowing combo.

However, Magmortar's Fire Punch broke Steve's combo, the fiery uppercut sending him up into the air. Mismagius used this opportunity to attack the helpless Riolu with Psywave, causing him to scream. Steve fell to the ground and Aggron followed up with a mighty stomp on him.

"Ahhh!" Steve felt himself being squashed by the Agrron's massive foot. He tried to move beneath it, but he could not escape.

"Steve!" Andy cried, seeing his best friend in trouble.

"Hold on!" Cresselia fired a pink beam of energy at the Steel-type. Andy also shot his electricity at it, helping out. The combined attacks caused the Aggron to release Steve. He took this chance to roll back towards them.

"Th-thanks..." Steve sputtered, sitting up.

"No problem!" Andy tossed Steve an Oran berry. The Riolu caught it and ate it graciously.

Out of the corner of Steve's eye, he spotted the Magcargo approaching, preparing an attack.

"Andy, watch out!"

"Huh? Oof!"

Steve and Andy rolled away as the fire slug spewed a jet of flame at where the Pikachu had stood moments ago.

"That was close," Steve said, helping his partner up.

"You saved me!" Andy exclaimed. "Thanks a lot!"

"Now we're even!" Steve replied with a smile, recalling the times when Andy had pushed him out of the way of Groudon's and Dialga's finishing blows.

Darkrai hovered forward, somewhat irritated that his enemies weren't defeated yet.

"Disappear!" He shot a coil of purple and black energy at the Riolu, who was hit square in the stomach by the Dark Pulse. Steve was sent skidding backwards a few feet.

"Are you alright?" Cresselia called in concern.

"Yeah... Fine..." Steve clutched the wound on his belly.

Andy had just about enough of Darkrai hurting his partner. Andy wasn't going to let Darkrai win!

"That's it... I... I won't let you win! You're going down, Darkrai!"

The Pikachu then unleashed his electricity full force, screaming. The electrical wave struck all the Pokémon in the room, except for his teammates, who had avoided it. When Andy looked up, all of Darkrai's minions had fallen.

"Good job, buddy!" Steve yelled, breathing hard.

"Why you…" Darkrai growled, before he swallowed a Totter Seed thrown by Steve. "What?" Darkrai began hovering around in circles, dazed.

"I love doing that." Steve smirked, then shot his Aura Sphere at Darkrai. The dark Pokémon yelped when the ball of energy struck him.

Andy shot his stream of electricity at Darkrai, making him recoil in pain. Cresselia used her Aurora Beam, hurting the Dark-type as well.

Darkrai hovered back slowly, beginning to feel overwhelmed. He shook his head, clearing the confusion.

"How... how can this be?" said Darkrai. How. Are. You. WINNING?!"

The Riolu did not answer. He simply stared at his paws lit with Aura. Then he looked up, meeting his opponent's gaze.

"_This ends now!_" Steve jumped and Force Palmed Darkrai in the face.

"Gah!" Darkrai cried out, then collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

"This is the end for you, Darkrai!" Cresselia declared. She slashed at the dark Pokémon, who fell back several feet.

"No… C-Cresselia…" Darkrai said, hovering back up into the air. "You still can't catch me!" His eyes shined, then suddenly a dimensional hole appeared behind him.

"Hey, that's a dimensional hole!" Steve pointed out the portal behind Darkrai.

"This dimensional hole will take me to the future or the past. I've failed only in this time, so I will plunge the world into darkness in another time," Darkrai declared.

"Stop!" Andy demanded when Darkrai hovered towards the hole. "He's getting away!" The trio followed when he dark Pokémon stopped short of the hole and looked back at them.

"Too bad for you. I can slip away quickly," Darkrai said calmly.

"Don't you dare!" Steve shouted, furious their opponent was deciding to flee. Darkrai was a true coward, after all. "Ugh, where's Palkia when you need him?"

"Mwahahaha!" Darkrai laughed. "He's not coming to help you! This will end in my ultimate victory! Hahahahahaha!"

"**I won't allow that!**" a voice boomed.

Palkia appeared in a yellow orb, as he usually did.

"Palkia!" Andy cried, relieved to see the legendary Pokémon.

"**You will pay a grave price for expanding the distortion of space, Darkrai!**" he said.

"Gah! NO!" Darkrai yelped and backed up into the hole, disappearing within it.

"**You cannot escape!**" Palkia roared and fired a ball of energy into the dimensional hole.

"_Gaaaaaah!_" Darkrai's voice echoed from the dimensional hole. The portal turned grey, then suddenly shattered like glass. The pieces scattered to the ground and faded after several seconds.

"That thing broke!" Steve exclaimed. "With Darkrai still inside it!"

Andy glanced around. "We heard him scream… is he gone forever?"

"**No,**" Palkia answered. "**He has been banished to an unknown place. But wherever he may be, he lives.**"

"But, won't Darkrai turn evil again?" Andy questioned.

"That remains to be seen," Cresselia replied. "Darkrai was struck with Palkia's attack while time traveling. So just like Steve, it's likely that Darkrai has lost his memory as well."

"So he'll will lose his memories... just like me," Steve murmured.

"Yes, Darkrai will wander, lost wherever he is," Cresselia said.

"**We are done with him,**" Palkia said. "**He will not likely do his evil deeds again.** **I will return to Spacial Rift. Farewell.**" With that, Palkia roared, turning into the yellow ball of energy, and soared out of the area.

Team Galaxy had finally defeated the cause of the world's demise. They stopped Darkrai once and for all. It was a long, hard road, but they did it.

"Well, my job here is done," Cresselia said.

"Should we get back to Treasure Town now?" Steve asked.

"Yeah! Let's go home, Steve!" Andy shared a triumphant high five with Steve, his best friend.


	29. Endings

**Chapter 29: Endings**

Steve and Andy had saved the world twice by preventing time from freezing and stopping Darkrai's scheme to cloak the world in darkness. All of these events made them famous within Treasure Town; many Pokémon knew and recognized them.

One evening, Andy walked through town, waving to anyone who said hello. He was searching for Steve, who had excused himself to go somewhere.

"Where did Steve go?" Andy asked himself. He ran to the crossroad, looking at the guild steps, then at the path to the beach. "Maybe he's there." Andy ran down to the beach, determined to find his partner.

The Pikachu arrived at the beach and glanced around. Then he noticed the Riolu simply sitting by himself on the sand, staring out at the sea. Andy breathed a sigh of relief and approached.

"Hey, Steve," Andy said. "I've been looking for you. What are you doing here by yourself?"

"I dunno," Steve replied, glancing at his partner. "Just thinking."

Andy sat down next to him. "About how we saved the world and stuff like that?"

"Yeah." Steve looked out at the waves of the sea. "I can't believe that all this happened. It just seems so unreal…"

"Who'd knew that we'd save the world and become famous," Andy said with a chuckle.

Both Pokémon had a good laugh at the remark.

"I mean, I was a coward back then. I was too scared to even go into Wigglytuff's Guild," Andy said, reminiscing. "But then you came, Steve. You helped me overcome my fears."

Steve looked at his partner. "I know, buddy. You kinda told me that already."

"Really, Steve. Thank you _so much_ for everything that you've done for me," Andy insisted. "I'm so, _so_ grateful to have you as my partner."

Silence fell between the two of them. A moment later Andy asked, "Hey, do... Do you want to stay here? As a Pokémon?"

"Yeah," Steve replied. "I don't have anything to go back to in the future. Besides, being a Riolu is kinda cool."

"I hope Grovyle and Celebi are okay," Andy said.

Steve nodded, agreeing. They were somewhere in the future, and he hoped they were safe and sound. Silence came over the two of them. The gentle waves of the sea and the bubble blowing Krabby were the only sounds heard.

"...You know what?" Steve said after a minute.

"Hmm?"

"Tag! You're it!" Steve tapped Andy on the shoulder and began to run.

"What?!" Andy jumped to his feet as Steve ran. "No fair! Get back here!"

The Riolu and Pikachu spent the rest of that hour chasing each other around the beach while splashing seawater and having fun.

* * *

**My first story is complete!**

**Originally I was only going to write the main story of the game, then I decided to do the post-game as well.**

**I will admit I posted the first 20 chapters in one day. I should space the chapters apart next time.**

**I've read at least 3 novelizations of the Explorers games, and they've inspired me to write my own version. I'm also a fan of PMD stories in general.**

**Tell me what you think about my story. Constructive criticism would be appreciated.**

**Bye!**


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